Hollow
by MustangsGirl
Summary: A chain of murders pulls Colonel Mustang and Lt. Hawkeye into action. With every lead in the case, another mystery appears... and when things get personal for the Lieutenant, what is the Colonel to do? Rated for violence and language. RoyRiza pairing
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Riza Hawkeye leaned back against her gray desk chair, lifting a hand to fix the thin blonde stray hair that had fallen across her eye. The silver clock on the wall ticked in an endless rhythm, the only sound dominating the lonely silence of the office. Stacks of papers lay across her desk, as well as a few broken pencils.

Her amber eyes drooped slightly, begging for sleep. Catching herself, Riza snapped her head up and grasped the edges of her desk in front of her, trying to clear all thoughts of rest from her mind.

Looking above her at the clock on the wall, she could see that it was only twelve in the afternoon. Groaning inwardly, she rubbed her eyes, wishing she were back at home in her own bed. No one should have to go to work on a Sunday without a reason.

However, of course, the Colonel had waited until the last minute to attempt to fill out his paperwork, and she had gotten a mildly frantic call from him at three o'clock the previous night, for he had just gotten back from wherever the hell he had been drinking all night, and remembered that his papers were left in stacks undone on his desk.

Why in the hell did she agree to come in to work and help him finish them? It was the Colonel's own fault that his papers had not been completed. He always did things like this- waiting until the last minute to complete projects and then dumping it on someone else.

She turned around at this thought and glanced behind her. There were no sounds of footsteps in the hallway yet; no sounds of the Colonel's childish whistling as he came from his supposed "bathroom break." Too bad it had been almost a half hour since he had left- and Riza had been stuck doing twice the amount of work she had to do.

A wave of anger swept over the Lieutenant and she rose from her chair, letting it scrape back against the floor loudly. Slamming her pen down on the desk with a cracking sound, she grabbed her uniform jacket off of the coat rack by her desk and quickly thrust her arms into the sleeves and buttoned it up.

To hell with all this unnecessary work- if the Colonel needed her help, then of course she would never hesitate to help him. However, if he was just going to dump the whole work load on her shoulders and leave her to go gallivanting around the deserted military base, then she deserved a break as well. Maybe she wouldn't come back for a while, either.

With a determined sigh, Riza made her way towards the office door, and reached her hand towards the smooth metal doorknob.

A sudden shadow could be seen through the small space at the bottom of the door, and Riza sighed in frustration.

"Back from your bathroom break, Colonel?" she asked angrily. "So nice of you to come back and help me with _your_ work."

The shadow shifted to face her from the other side of the door. They remained there for a moment, and suddenly turned and ran from the door and down the hall.

"Hey!" Riza cried. "Come back here! This isn't funny Colonel!"

She grasped the handle of the doorknob and yanked the door open quickly.

Riza was shocked to suddenly find herself staring into the colonel's onyx eyes. She gasped in surprise and stumbled back away from him, grasping the edge of her desk for balance.

"What's not funny?" he asked, with a confused look on his face. His eyes drifted down to her coat. "Where are you going?"

Riza frowned and straightened herself. "I was about to take a break, if you don't mind. I didn't come here to do all of your work for you while you go off on your own somewhere, and then have you scare the hell out of me." She said sharply; her eyes suddenly focusing in on the objects in his hands.

Oh, how she wished she could stop time and take back her words.

In the Colonel's hands were two cups of coffee, their steam rising slowly into the air between them.

Roy furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "You think I just left you here to finish my work for me?" his voice held a hurt tone as he held out one of the cups of coffee towards her. "I treat my officers better than that. I apologize if the place down the street was crowded."

Riza tried to speak, but his eyes flashed suddenly, signaling to her that their conversation was over. She took the cup of coffee guiltily, and the colonel brushed past her, heading towards his desk.

Hawkeye kept her back to him, feeling her cheeks redden. She had been so stupid to assume the Colonel had abandoned her with his work.

"Go home." Roy said in monotone, not once looking up at her as he lifted a pen from his desk and gathered together a group of papers. "Sorry to have kept you here unnecessarily."

Riza turned around to say something, but obediently stopped herself. There was no use arguing with the colonel now. She had been a jerk, and she deserved to feel terrible. Turning towards the door, she once again reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, closing the door behind herself.

Roy looked up at the door after it had closed and the Lieutenant's footsteps had faded down the hallway. His eyes drifted back down to the papers in front of him, and his eyes widened, seeing that they were already done. In fact… all of the papers on his desk were completed; the red seal of the military branch were stamped neatly on each one, as was his stamped signature in their appropriate places.

With a sigh, he rested his head in his hand, and looked up towards the door once again, before rising from his chair to stop the Lieutenant from leaving.

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Riza kept her brisk pace as she walked down the empty hallways, heading towards the stairs. She hated herself sometimes- never thinking before she spoke. Although she possessed few weaknesses, her inability to speak compassionately in times of need had often dominated her better judgment.

She slid her hand slowly down the railing as she made her way down the steps towards the exit at the end of the stairs. At least she had finished his work for him; now he could go home and get some rest like he deserved.

A creaking door suddenly ended her thoughts, as the noise reached her ears from the bottom of the stairs. Narrowing her eyes, Riza glanced behind her once, and returned her sights to the darkened stairs ahead of her.

Instinctively, she pressed herself against the wall of the stairway and reached a hand behind her back to once again rest on her gun. Immediately, her mind flashed back to only a few minutes ago when she had come across that shadow on the opposite side of the office door. She had completely forgotten to mention that to the colonel.

Another slight creaking noise reached her ears, this time sounding closer to the bottom of the stairs that sat in shadow. One solution came to mind, as she removed her gun from its holster. If there was someone inside the base at this hour, when it was closed to everyone, then that someone was up to no good. A firm determination tugged at her heart at the thought of protecting the colonel. The best thing to do was to investigate what lay below her, leaving Roy in the safety of his office.

Shifting her weight to accommodate her position, Riza slowly began to make her way down the stairs, angling her gun into the shadows where anyone could be hiding to attack. She wasn't going to let anyone get past her to harm the colonel.

A quick shuffling of feet on the floor froze her in place and she shrunk down on the stairs, trying to not be seen. A shadowy figure appeared in the recesses of the downstairs level then, and although she had been thoroughly expecting an intruder, a chill managed to run down her spine.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye! Are you still here?"

Riza's eyes widened as the Colonel's voice drifted towards her ears. She could hear his office door open and close, and his footsteps rapidly approached the stairs. The figure below her turned to face the stairs and rushed forward to make their way up the stairs at the colonel.

Riza rose from her place on the stairs. "Get back sir!" she cried, firing her gun.

The figure slid to a halt just before they reached the light, falling to the ground as they barely dodged the unexpected shot. Frantically, they scrambled to their feet and took off down the hallway, and into the darkness.

"Dammit!" she cursed, running down the stairs after them.

-------------

At the sound of the gunshot, Roy's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat, startled by the unexpected gunfire.

"Lieutenant!" he shouted, breaking into a full-out run towards the stairs. Fumbling his hands into his pocket, he grabbed his pyrotechnic gloves and forced them on just as he reached the stairs.

------------------

Riza felt the air whip her hair back from her face, as she whizzed past the empty offices of the hallway. Using her free hand, she reached onto her belt and ripped her small flashlight from its holder, clicking it on to light the darkness before her.

The person ducked into a nearby office, and Riza did the same. Resting her back against the doorframe, she checked the gun's roulette to make sure she had enough bullets, and clicked it shut. Keeping an ear out for the assailant, she tried to catch her breath, all the while cursing the darkness. She had always hated the basement level of the military base because it always seemed so dark, but of course now she had a reason to hate it even more.

At the sound of the person running out from the office, Riza whipped her gun around the corner of the doorway and shot twice at their retreating form.

The person dove aside and surprisingly turned to her and pulled out a gun of their own. Riza barely had the time to react and threw herself against the opposite doorframe of the office. The first bullet hit its mark where her head had been moments before, sinking deep into the doorframe a few feet above where she now crouched on the ground.

The person was clumsily fumbling with their weapon, trying to load a new round into the gun; obviously unprepared for their brawl.

A hollow snap echoed down the hallway, and moments later a blazing flame torched through the air. Riza's breath became caught in her throat as she realized that the colonel had come after her instead of staying put in his office. Chances were that he didn't know his attacker possessed a gun.

Her thoughts turned into one clear word as she ran from her place just as the attacker cocked their gun.

Protect.

However, their assailant realized what true danger they were suddenly presented with, and turned to run down the hallway.

With all of her skill and strength, Riza raised her gun and aimed her shot at the fleeing attacker. The first hit the wall just above their head, and the second landed victoriously in their right shoulder of their upper back

With a cry, the person stumbled forward, their body crumpling on the ground as they grasped their shoulder in pain. Just before Riza made it down the hallway, a bright light shone from around the fallen person in the shape of a circle, and thick gray smoke rose from the ground, tracing the shape.

Moments later, the person was immersed in the fog, and disappeared.

Riza could feel her heart threatening to beat out of her chest, as the realization of what had taken place finally hit her. Dropping her gun, she fell to her knees on the cold hard floor and hung her head. They had gotten away.

Roy could see his Lieutenant fall and rushed to her side. "What happened, Hawkeye?" he cried, bending down to her. "Are you hurt?"

Riza shook her head, letting the stray pieces of her blonde hair fall into her eyes to hide her shame. Suddenly flipping her hair out of her eyes, she directed her amber gaze into his.

"I'm glad you're okay sir."

Roy's expression turned soft at the sound of his Lieutenant's voice. He regained composure quickly, and rose to his feet, offering her his hand.

"Let's get out of here." He said. "We have much to discuss."

Riza looked up at him and hesitated for only a moment before slipping her hand into his, allowing him to help her to her feet.

There was much to talk about indeed.

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Authors Note:

Thanks for reading my first chapter… hopefully you'll stick with it and see where the story goes. Unlike some people, I will keep updating no matter how many reviews I get, because I like writing what I do. However, please keep your comments polite and I'll keep posting.

Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The hallways of the Central Military Base were bustling full of people Monday morning. Inspectors, soldiers, and officials filled the once dark and deserted basement level hallway, surrounding what was left behind from the brawl the afternoon before.

Colonel Mustang could hear their muffled voices even from behind the furor's door on the second floor as he sat, making his report of the incident that he had witnessed. It had only taken a few minutes for him to speak of what happened, for it contained very little information to begin with. He had been in his office, heard the Lieutenant fire her gun, he had followed the noise, and seen his subordinate and the assailant exchange gunfire. The assailant was hit in the upper body, and made their escape as a circle of smoke surrounded them.

Furor Bradley laced his fingers together and rested them on the desk in front of him. "Is that all that you can recall?" he asked in his normal kind voice.

"Yes Furor, sir." Roy answered respectively. "That is all."

"Then thank you for your time." He said with a smile. "You may go back to your duties, Colonel Mustang."

Roy stood up and saluted his commanding officer, turning to leave the office. As soon as he had closed the door behind himself, his subordinate officers were crowded around him excitedly, wanting to know the details of the attack.

"So tell me, Colonel, is it true that you were attacked by three men in red uniforms with guns and knives?" Fury asked with fear in his eyes.

"Guns and knives?" Havoc interrupted before Roy answer, "I heard that they had ninja stars and that they were top assassins!"

"Top assassins… oh please. They were obviously hit men, and why would they have ninja stars!" Breta chimed in.

"The technical name would not be 'hit men'", Fulman interceded; "They would rather be referred to as-"

The colonel clenched his fists, getting a headache from all the shouting.

"That's enough!" he shouted. "There was ONE man carrying ONE gun. End of story!"

With that, he stormed off down the hallway and up the stairs towards his office. He really didn't have time for all that nonsense.

Before he could enter, however, he heard voices from the inside that stopped him in his tracks. One was recognizably Lieutenant Hawkeye's voice, but the other was a low masculine voice that Roy didn't know.

"I really don't understand why you want to stay here any longer." The man's voice was insisting. "With everything that happens around here, you should be packing your bags and taking the first train home to be with me and the rest of the family. Forget all this soldier crap."

"You know my answer to that." Riza responded steadily. "My decisions are none of your concern, and they remain the same as always. I am going to stay here under Colonel Mustang's command, and you can just go back home before you get yourself into trouble."

Roy narrowed his eyes. Someone was giving his Lieutenant trouble, and he didn't like it.

---------------

Riza meanwhile, was focusing on her paperwork, while her younger brother barraged her with all the same complaints that he always gave her when trying to convince her to go back home.

"Come on, Riza." He begged, leaning forward on her desk. "Please just come home. Mom really misses you."

"Jay, I told you to go home." Riza repeated, her voice holding a hint of frustration. "Please. I have work to do here. I still need to make my report of yesterday's incident, finish my work, and begin the investigation. Hearing you beg me to desert the Colonel and just go home is not going to convince me to do so."

Jay frowned and his crystal blue eyes filled with angry tears. "Christ, Riza. Listen to yourself! You've abandoned your own family!"

"That's enough!" she cried, bringing her fist down hard on her desk, making it rattle slightly. Jay stepped back from her desk a little, not expecting her outburst.

"I am NOT abandoning ANYONE." She cried. "I am bestowing honor to our family's name by being a military official. I would be abandoning the Colonel if I was to just leave because you can't stand having to take care of things on your own. You're an adult Jay- you're 19. Get a job, and stop dreaming about becoming an alchemist. By doing that, you are only hurting mom."

Her brother clenched his fists as a tear slipped down his face.

"I WILL become an alchemist. I…"

"Just go home, Jay." Riza interrupted, settling back at her desk with her calm exterior. "Leave."

Opening his mouth, Jay was about to argue once again. However, he stopped himself and stepped backwards from his sister. Turning around quickly, he ran for the door before he cried. Just as he was about to turn the knob, he looked back at his older sister who was currently reading a paper as if he was no longer in her presence.

"You're not my sister anymore." He said sadly. "You're a mindless dog of the military that will die with dishonor along with that insane Colonel of yours."

At his harsh accusations, Riza snapped her head up from her work only to see him retreating from the office.

"Jason!" she shouted after him, standing up from her desk. "JASON!"

The only response she got was the sound of his retreating footsteps echoing down the hallway.

With a shaky sigh, Riza dropped back into her seat, holding her head in her hands. Her brother's words echoed through her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. She was so enveloped within her grief; she didn't hear the Colonel step into the room.

Roy's eyes came to rest on his subordinate, hunched over at her desk. He had heard the entire conversation that had taken place between Riza and her brother, and had seen the tears streaming down the young man's face as he had emerged from the office, not even realizing the colonel was right there.

There was so many things that Roy wanted to say to her… many, many things.

"Lieutenant…"

Riza gasped at the sound of the Colonel's voice. She blinked quickly and wiped the few tears that had managed to defeat her soldier's exterior before lifting her head to look up at him.

"Sir… I… I can explain.

Roy held up a hand to silence her and smiled. "There is nothing to explain, Lieutenant." He said reassuringly. "I heard the whole thing."

Riza's eyes widened in embarrassment, and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "I am sorry, sir, for my brother's disrespect. I can…"

"Thank you, Lieutenant." He said, interrupting her from her embarrassment.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sir?"

"Thank you for staying with me." He said softly.

The tone of his voice caught Riza by surprise. Warmth ignited within her heart, and she felt instantly at ease.

"Of course," was all she could reply, "My loyalties lie with you, sir."

A sudden knock on the office door brought both of the officers out of their conversation with a frenzied jolt.

Riza hurriedly made her way to the door and opened it, giving Roy time to seat himself at his desk.

The Lieutenant found herself face to face with Furor Bradley himself. Whirling around to face the Colonel, she nervously announced his majesty's presence.

"Colonel Mustang, Furor King Bradley has graced us with his presence here today."

Roy stood up at his desk quickly, saluting his superior for the second time that day.

"Good afternoon sir." He said calmly, although his heart was racing from the unexpected visit. "What can I do for you?"

The Furor laughed and smiled. "Don't be so formal, Mustang. We just spoke a little while ago. I just came by to introduce you and Lieutenant Hawkeye to the new investigator."

Riza and Roy quickly exchanged confused glances. This case needed a new investigator?

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Author's Note:

Hello again! Chapter 2 is up and posted… hope you like it! I forgot to mention this in the first author's note of Chapter 1, but I am turning this story into a fan comic as well. Hopefully once I get out of college for the summer, I'll be able to finish that too… so hopefully that's something to look forward to! Thanks again for reading! Ch. 3 coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The large door of the office opened further and the Furor moved aside to make a passage for their new investigator.

In walked a tall, thin woman already dressed in their military garb. She had short dark brown hair which held various shades of purple and blonde when they light shone down on it. She held a professional, yet relaxed air, and saluted the Colonel; her bright hazel eyes shone with both experience and youth.

"It is an honor, Colonel Mustang." She spoke in a smooth and even voice as she made her salute. "I am Private Rebecca Quinn, reporting for investigation duty for yesterday's attack."

Roy relaxed a little and returned her salute. "Nice to meet you, Private. As you know, I am Colonel Roy Mustang, and this is the first Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. We are happy to have you along with the investigation."

Rebecca nodded and lowered her arm. Furor Bradley smiled. "Well, I guess you don't need me here anymore. Lieutenant Hawkeye, would you please show our guest to her new office? It's the empty one down the hall on the right."

Riza snapped her head to attention upon hearing the Furor speak to her, and saluted. "Yes sir."

"Alright then, have fun." The Furor smiled his usual endearing grin and shut the door behind him.

Riza stepped forward and smiled at Rebecca. "If you would like to follow me, I can show you to your office."

"Yes, thank you." Rebecca responded with a polite smile. "Thank you for your time, Colonel. I will be awaiting your orders."

Roy was currently turned around at his desk, staring out the large window with his back turned to both of the women. His eyes narrowed and he stared down at the sun-lit meadow of the military base courtyard, watching Riza's black dog prancing in the small wildflowers that grew there.

Riza could tell exactly what was on his mind, and removed a folder from the Colonel's desk, placing a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Follow me, please." She said quietly.

As soon as they left the office and the door was closed behind them, Riza sighed. "I must apologize for the Colonel's behavior." She said with a smile. "It's just… he lost a friend recently and your new office once belonged to him."

Rebecca frowned. "Oh, I am very sorry to hear that." She said sadly. "I hope it doesn't seem like I am trying to become a replacement."

Riza only smiled again, not wanting to continue the conversation that even she was beginning to become upset over. "I hope you find it comfortable." She said, as they reached the small office. She handed Rebecca the folder. "Inside are the papers that you need to fill out, and in the left pocket is your assignment sheet. You are to report any new findings you may have to the Colonel and myself in a log journal that is to remain strictly confidential- it is not to be seen by anyone not involved in this case. Do you understand?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Lieutenant." She said respectfully. "And thank you for the warm welcome."

As Rebecca disappeared behind the office door, Riza sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. Too much had gone on that morning for her to handle without feeling the stress.

Heading back into the office she and the Colonel shared, and opened the door slowly.

The sunlight streamed in through the window, falling upon the Colonel's onyx hair like a gentle glittering mist. He was propped up on both armrests of the chair; his left arm lay relaxed in place, while his right hand covered his brow as he kept his head tilted down and on an angle, resting on his arm. Lost within his thoughts, the Colonel's face held no expression in his reflection upon the clear glass window, and Riza assumed he hadn't notice her come in.

"You know the last thing he ever said to me?"

Riza looked up, surprised that the Colonel had spoken to her. He was still facing the window as he had been the entire time; only this time his dark eyes were directed at her through the reflection of the glass.

Riza swallowed lightly. "The Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. He said, 'Roy, I've noticed something. There are two kinds of people in the world. There are the people who are so worried about living the perfect life that they waste their whole life worrying instead of living. Then there are the people who don't give a shit about life at all, and are just a plain waste to worry about.'"

The Colonel laughed a dry, quiet laugh, picturing the Lieutenant Colonel's ridiculous logic.

Riza smiled as well; that quote was well placed within Hughes's expected ways of thinking about things.

Roy sighed and rubbed his eyes, as if hoping to be able to wake from a dream and open his eyes to find Hughes standing beside him as if he had never been away. Blinking, of course, he saw no sign of his old friend.

"I disagree with that completely." He said suddenly. "There is a third kind of person in the world- the kind of person who worries about others; who makes sure that others are living the perfect life, and who puts others before themselves. The kind of person that still lives on in even in death."

Riza's breath got caught in her throat as she saw the pain and grief that filled the Colonel's handsome face. He looked the same as the day of Hughes's funeral; his eyes were clouded over with rain. It pained her to see him in such distress.

The Lieutenant smiled and stared out the window as well, watching two small birds flutter from tree branch to tree branch in a graceful dance with each other.

"You're right sir." She said. "That sounds just like Hughes."

Roy turned around and looked up at Riza; his eyes held a momentary surprise at her words. A smile formed on his face a moment later and he nodded; silently thanking her for her great understanding.

It was at that moment that the sun grew a little brighter, as if the Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was right there listening; his contagious and bright smile filling the room with a warm glow, just as he always would.

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Author's Note-

This chapter was really sad… I still wish that poor Hughes hadn't died.

Also, I wanted to point out that "Rebecca" is actually my college roommate. Haha- she wanted me to add her in the story, so I did! Don't worry though, I'm not going to be annoying and make her steal Roy or something like some people do. I really hate when people make up their own characters and totally ruin the storyline with them. That's just a personal thing, I guess. LoL

Oh, and just as a small apology- I have no idea why, but for some reason the site wouldn't let me sign in to update my story until today, so sorry for the delay! To make it up to you, I am going to post chapter 4 as well. Hope you like it!

Much love… xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You say it was an alchemist? Wow- who would have guessed?"

Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc was propped against the wall of the basement hallway, staring down at the small area roped off where the attacker had made his escape the day before. His green eyes watched Rebecca contentedly as she gathered together her tools and placed them in her small leather bag, wrapping up her investigation with the physical evidence.

Standing up, she removed her rubber gloves and sighed, stepping over the ropes that separated the small crime scene from the remainder of the hallway.

"Yes, sir." She said, glancing back at the moisture that remained on the floor. "Most of what's left on the ground there is the product of condensation. Lieutenant Hawkeye and the Colonel both reported to have seen a fog rise up from around the fallen attacker, and when it had cleared, the person was gone. As you know, alchemy is the process and understanding of equivalent exchange. In order for this person to have created the fog effect, they were to have had to make their own transmutation circle. There are what looks to be slight remains of chalk in the floor, but most of it managed to become washed away with the watery residue. However, if you look at the shape of the residue, it is in the form of an almost perfect circle itself."

Havoc narrowed his eyes in thought. "We still need more evidence that it was alchemy." He said. "There must have been some sort of equivalent exchange…"

"Yes." Rebecca nodded, happy to have someone to discuss her findings with. "That brings me to my next point, sir. You see, that's exactly the first thought that crossed my mind when I was pondering the possibility of the use of alchemy. Fog is a direct link to water, through evaporation. If the attacker had water with him at the time, he would have been able to transmute the water into a nice thick fog, allowing him enough time to make his escape."

Havoc smiled and nodded. "And you found that the attacker had sought shelter in one of the empty offices during the attack. It was reported that he left behind a bottle of water he must have been carrying… I certainly would have needed water after all that frantic running. Either that, or maybe he thought he could use it against the Colonel's fire." He grinned at his own joke, imagining someone attempting to fight off the Colonel's powerful fire blasts with a water bottle.

Rebecca smiled and opened her bag, pulling out a water bottle encased securely in a plastic bag. "Evidence B." she announced. "The mysterious water bottle found further down the hall. It could link to the murder scene, and tie in with our proposed use of alchemy and bring us closer to our attacker."

Havoc smiled approvingly. "Well, I've got to be heading back to the dormitories now. It's getting late." He said. "But it sure does seem like you have your work cut out for you. You're doing well so far, Private. I expect the best results for your hard work."

Rebecca nodded. "Thank you, sir." She said, checking to make sure she had everything with her. "Thank you for your time as well."

Havoc grinned and pulled out a cigarette from his uniform pocket. "Any time." He said, reaching in again to get a lighter. "Really- any time."

Rebecca watched the handsome blonde haired soldier wink at her and began to walk down the hallway, humming some nameless tune under his breath. She smiled and headed in the opposite direction towards the stairs. She needed to get to her office and analyze the situation. With her new findings, she would be yet another step closer to who their assailant was.

As she stepped off the last stair, the atmosphere immediately changed. There was no more of a dark and dismal air; a few soldiers and military officials wandered through the hallways, preparing to leave for the night.

Reaching her door, Rebecca pulled it open and stepped inside, enjoying the cool wave of air that rushed against her face from the door. Closing it behind her, she placed her bag of evidence and tools on the floor next to her desk, and rummaged around to find a few papers to file the crime scene evidence onto.

Forgetting her cup of coffee still sat on her desk from that morning, she had to grab it quickly from pouring all over her desk as it tipped over from her rushing around. A few drops managed to spill onto a small yellow paper that lay on her closed notebooks. With a sigh, she picked up the paper and was about to toss it in the garbage when she realized it was not blank.

Turning it over carefully, she let her sleeve fall over her hand and dabbed up the coffee drops from the paper, trying not to spread the ink illegibly. Her eyes clouded over in confusion as she read the short message to herself.

_The world is full of choices to make… _

_Will you answer to the call of fate?  
_

The words didn't make any sense. Who would leave her such a note... and what did it mean? Looking around the room, she sighed and walked over near her desk. Sitting down in the chair, she scooted it closer to the desk before opening a notebook to write in.

As soon as she touched the tip of her pen to the paper, however, the telephone on her desk suddenly rang, startling her in its relentless shrill tone. Slightly annoyed, Rebecca sighed and lifted the phone from its hook.

"Private Investigator Rebecca Quinn, How can I help you?"

A thin silence on the other end of the phone proved to be her only answer.

"Hello?" she asked a little louder. "Is someone there?"

With a frustrated sigh, she hung the phone up back on its hook. Her arm accidentally hit her ink well and splayed black ink across a few stray papers on her desk.

"Dammit!" she cursed, looking around for something to soak up the mess. However, she suddenly froze, looking back down at her desk. The ink seemed to well up around the edges of the small yellow paper that she had found on her desk earlier.

The words seemed to jump out at her, and she narrowed her eyes in thought.

"The call of… fate?" she read out loud. "Wait… what does that…"

She was interrupted as the phone on her desk began to ring again. Motivation seemed to take control, and Rebecca reached for the phone with a new determination. Perhaps whoever left her that note was trying to contact her…? She could only guess.

"Hello? Can I help you?" She spoke into the phone, this time a little louder.

Another silence seemed to be her only answer. She sighed.

"If you cannot speak, then I'm afraid I can't be of use to you." She said, hanging up the phone again. As luck would have it, immediately the phone rang again.

After taking a deep breath to calm herself, she picked up the receiver, this time fully prepared not to say anything until the person on the other line did.

"Hello, Private."

In response to the unexpected voice, Rebecca gasped and slid back in her chair away from the desk, dropping the phone. Quickly regaining her composure, Rebecca returned closer to the desk, still slightly startled from the unexpected voice. Whoever it was, there was obviously something suspicious about the whole thing… she probably had been given some kind of prank by one of the officers at the base. She was a "newbie" anyway.

"Okay, now this has gone too far." Rebecca sighed to herself in frustration. A joke was a joke… but whoever this was, they were starting to become annoying. She picked up the phone and placed it back in place by her ear.

"Alright, who is this?" she demanded. "Why do you keep calling me?"

A cold and sinister laugh could be heard a moment later. She frowned, disturbed by the eerie sound.

"_Your incompetence amazes me, but I believe this will prove to be more fun than I expected." _They spoke, their identity still hidden from her. "_I don't believe you really want to know who I am. It will only make things confusing for everyone."_

Rebecca narrowed her eyes, growing fed up with the person on the other end of the line.

"I do have to say- it's not the best idea to play pranks on me- I could have you brought up on some serious charges." She said angrily, not caring who was on the other end of the phone anymore. All she knew was that this joke had just gone a step above annoying.

"You sound mad, Private." The person spoke. "You should be glad I am not telling you… you know what I would have to do if you found out."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah I know- you'd have to kill me, right? Real original."

For a moment, the person on the other end of the phone grew silent, as they had been before. When they finally spoke, their voice had grown even more eerie than before.

"Welcome to the game, Private."

The phone clicked, and the person hung up on their end of the line. Rebecca frowned, repeating the words over and over again in her head. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she whispered. She sighed, hanging up the phone.

"Dammit!" she cursed. "That figures. They got away."

Rebecca rested her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes. She was probably going to be bothered by this stupid prank for a long time.

"Forget it- this is just stupid." She muttered to herself. "It's time for me to go home anyway. I guess I just need some rest."

Gathering up her coat and papers to review later on that night, she rose from her desk chair, keeping one eye on her phone, almost expecting it to ring again. She hurriedly slid her jacket on, and made her way towards the door.

Just as her hand touched the knob, the phone on her desk began to ring again. She stood there with the feeling of the cool metal on her fingertips, not sure if she should just ignore it again and go home or not.

A small light next to the phone lit up suddenly, and the phone stopped ringing. She sighed in relief, and turned back around to leave.

Nothing could have prepared her for the shock she received when a loud, crackling white noise static suddenly boomed from the phone's answering machine as if someone was leaving her a message.

A frightened cry escaped from her lips as she jumped away from the desk, almost tripping backwards into her file cabinets that stood on one side of the doorway.

"You want to know me?" the eerie voice seemed to slither through the air like a venomous snake. "No one really knows me. There is nothing of me to know… I am hollow. Cursed and hollow."

Rebecca shakily regained her balance against her file cabinets, reaching once more for the door.

"This is your fault, Private. Remember what you said before? If I were to tell you about myself, I'd have to kill you. It was your idea, you know."

Without thinking, Rebecca grabbed a notebook from the edge of her desk and launched it at the phone. With a perfect aim, the notebook knocked the phone off the desk and it hit the floor, breaking into a few pieces. The light on the phone flickered and went out.

She stood there for a moment, hearing the silence, still staring at the place where the phone had sat at her desk, almost expecting it to start ringing again. She suddenly seemed to snap out of her stupor and yanked her door open, rushing outside.

The prank had suddenly turned to a threat.

-------------------------------

Author's Note:

Cliffhanger! Haha… sorry about leaving it off like this, but I am going to update every day if I can, so if you hang on for only a day you will see what happens! LoL

There's not much to say about this chapter… just hope you like it, and give me your feedback and comments! Thanks for reading! .


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Doors and people all melded into a frantic blur as Rebecca ran down the hallway of the military base towards the Colonel's office. She would have been more reserved in most cases, but there was a terrible feeling nestled deep within the Private investigator's heart that she just couldn't shake. The voice of the person on the other end of the phone haunted her every step.

She reached the door and was about to pull it open when she heard someone call to her from behind. Turning around, she found herself looking up at the Colonel's Lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye.

"Is there something that you need?" she asked.

Rebecca nodded quickly. "I need to speak with the colonel!" she said. "It's an emergency."

Riza narrowed her eyes in concern and reached for the doorknob. "Let me announce you." She spoke quietly, as if she understood the haste.

The Lieutenant disappeared into the office, but emerged a moment later. "The Colonel has left for the day." She said apologetically. "He might have had another engagement else ware."

Rebecca let all of her breath out painfully, feeling the strain in her chest. "This is terrible." She said. "It is very urgent, Lieutenant. Would you please take me to him? You must know where he is!"

Riza shook her head. "My apologies, Private, but I am not authorized to transport you to the Colonel's home. I have strict orders against it. If you need to speak with the Colonel, you may either speak to me, or wait until tomorrow."

Rebecca stepped forward. "But I can't!" she urged. "Please understand!"

Riza turned from her. "I'm sorry, Private. There is nothing I can do for you."

"Alright, I'll tell you!"

The Lieutenant stopped in her tracks.

"I'll tell you what I need to speak to the Colonel about!" Rebecca repeated in a defeated tone. "But not here- it's too dangerous."

Riza turned back around to face Rebecca. Her eyes widened as she finally saw the look of terror in the Private's eyes. "Step inside the office." She said quietly.

The interior was dark and empty, with only a single desk lamp lighting up the room. Riza seated herself at her desk, and then motioned for Rebecca to take a seat as well.

"What's going on?" the Lieutenant asked.

Rebecca could feel her hands shaking as she managed to maintain eye contact with Riza. "I received a note on my desk today." She spoke quietly, "It was some sort of riddle, referring to the 'call of fate' or something… suddenly my phone started ringing and whoever it was told me I was going to die. I think it might be connected to the case… I… I thought it was a prank at first, but now…"

Riza sat forward in her chair quickly. "Get up." She said, suddenly gruff. "Leave everything as it is in your office and come with me. Don't ask any questions, or draw attention to yourself."

Rebecca nodded nervously, unprepared for the sudden orders, but nonetheless watched as the Lieutenant put on her black trench coat and headed for the office door. She quickly fell in place behind the Lieutenant and took a deep breath as Riza opened the door, letting light flood the dark room.

The Lieutenant walked down the hallway at a brisk pace, rounding the corner and descending down a short flight of stairs. A tall metal door stood in the way, and she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silver key. Rebecca watched Riza unlock the large door, and open it, moving inside to let her follow.

When they were both inside and the door was closed behind them with an automatic lock, Riza switched on the lights. A few cars stood in the large empty room Rebecca found herself in. The Lieutenant led her over towards a dark blue car and took out a different key from her pocket, opening the door to the driver's seat. Rebecca slid in beside her and closed the door softly as she had watched Riza do seconds before.

The Lieutenant reached a hand over her head and pressed a small gray button just above the rearview mirror. The walls ahead of them suddenly seemed to come alive as they were pulled open by concealed machinery to reveal that they were, in fact, hidden doors leading from the building.

Riza started the car and calmly pulled out of the building, not once looking over towards Rebecca. When they were outside of the military base, she pressed the gray button again and the doors slid back into place, looking as though they were mere walls once again.

Rebecca sat there nervously with her hands in her lap, not knowing what was going to happen. The whole time, she had suddenly felt like a thief, lurking through hallways she shouldn't have had access to.

She peered over at Riza as they pulled down a narrow road that led them away from the base through a thick forest of trees. Seeing no sign of permission to speak, she sighed and looked away, staring out the window.

Her breath got caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of a camouflaged military soldier that flashed between a group of trees. There was suddenly another, and then another; for even the brief time that she saw them, Rebecca could clearly see the powerful machine guns that they held in their hands. Not wanting to see any more of the frightening forest, she turned her head to focus straight ahead of her and closed her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed, Rebecca could suddenly feel that they had left the forest, and felt the rays of the setting sun fall on her face.

"That forest always scared me when I first came here." Riza said suddenly, her voice now kind and light. "Those soldiers are of our finest snipers; trained to take out those who do not have authorized passage through the forest. There's really nothing to be afraid of- you're with me."

Rebecca opened her eyes and turned towards the Lieutenant, glad to have left the strange military base without harm.

"Wh-where are we going?" she asked, trying to maintain a calm tone of voice once again.

Riza looked over at her quickly, and then focused her attention on the road once again. "We're going to the Colonel's house." She said.

With a great sigh, Rebecca sat back in the seat, feeling relief rush over her. Strangely enough, with all that been happening to her, her life was beginning to seem like a horror movie. It was weird to think like that, but she tried to remain on the bright side- every damsel in distress never made it to the police or to get help before they were attacked in those stupid movies. She was already safe from harm, in the hands of one of the best gun-wielding military officers in the entire army, of whom was personally escorting her to one of the top military commanders as well. If she needed help, these people would be the ones to give it to her.

Turning her head slightly, Rebecca stared out the window, looking at her reflection appear and disappear in the light of the sun glaring off the glass. Hazel eyes stared back at her every now and then, and it made her wonder- was this all really happening? She had always led a quiet and reserved life with a steady job she enjoyed to do. How was it that all of a sudden everything seemed to be going to hell? It just didn't make sense.

A half hour melted away into her bottomless thoughts, of which were only interrupted when she felt the jolt of the car as it pulled to a stop. Lifting her head, Rebecca frowned. She had been expecting to pull up in front of a big house, but instead the Lieutenant had parked in the parking lot across from a few small stores.

"Where are we?" she asked, confused.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to just show up at his house." She said. "He was in danger only a few days ago, and now you are too. If there is a possibility of putting either one of you in danger, I would rather avoid such a thing at all costs."

She peered into her rearview mirror to be sure no one had pulled up behind them, and reached a hand behind her back. When she brought her hand back in front of her, she was holding sleek silver handgun that glistened in the last rays of the setting sun.

She checked the roulette and counted the bullets. Clicking the gun shut, she handed it to Rebecca.

The feel of the cold metal felt like a snake bite, and she shrank her hands away from the weapon as it fell into her lap. "What are you giving this to me for?" she asked, her voice beginning to quiver again. "I'm safe here, aren't I?"

Riza smiled and nodded. "It's just to be sure." She said. "You won't have to use it. Keep underneath your jacket for security."

Rebecca nodded grimly and picked up the weapon cautiously with two fingers, almost afraid it would go off in her hands. When it was tucked away inside an inner pocket of her uniform jacket, she saw Riza open the car door and step outside.

"I will be right back." She said calmly. "I need to make a phone call to be sure it is safe to bring you to him."

"Wait!" Rebecca called before she could leave. "Is it safe to call him on an insecure phone line?"

Riza nodded. "Don't worry." She said. "His phone line is secure. Only people with a recognizable voice password may be connected through to him. It's completely untraceable."

Rebecca watched the Lieutenant walk away from the car, towards a phone booth that stood on the other side of the street they were parked on. She hated to admit it, but with the combination of the metal gun sitting close to her chest, and the realization that she was alone in the car was beginning to frighten her. She peered around the seat she was in and looked into the back seat cautiously, as would a little child afraid of their "imaginary monsters." There was no sign of anyone or anything at all, and she sighed and turned back around, feeling slightly stupid, but nonetheless safer.

Seeing Riza returning to the car, of course, was even better yet. However, the look on the Lieutenant's face brought back her fears in a moment's time.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not sure if she would like the reply.

"The Colonel didn't answer his phone." She said. "There's one other place he would be at this hour, but I'm hesitant to bring you there."

"Where is he?" Rebecca asked. "Why shouldn't I go? Wouldn't it be safer for us to meet at a more public place anyway?"

Riza sighed, starting the car. "Do you remember his friend that I told you about yesterday?" she asked, pulling away from the curb. "The one that passed away?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes." She said. "He was a Lieutenant Colonel."

"Yes." Riza said. "Roy was very close with his entire family- his wife and young daughter are like his sister and niece, and it is very possible that he is there right now with them for dinner." She sighed, and turned the corner onto a busier street. "I apologized for his behavior upon your first meeting, as you know your office belonged to…"

"To his friend." Rebecca finished for her. "I understand. He must still feel like I am his replacement. For me to go to his friend's home, it would be unforgivable."

Riza looked at her out of the corner of her eye. There was a long silence before the Lieutenant spoke. "The Colonel may have strange ways of dealing with his loss, but he would never put his personal feelings before his duty."

Rebecca looked at the Lieutenant. "Right." She said. "He seems like a good man. I know why you're so close with him."

Riza didn't say anything, but a small smile appeared on the Lieutenant's face for a moment. The rest of the drive was in silence, but for that short time, the two officers remained in somewhat of a relaxed atmosphere.

Dusk had settled upon the town as the military vehicle came to a stop in front of a fairly nice-sized house. Rebecca stared at it from her window; her eyes tracing the shape of the white picket fence in the front yard, up the front walk, and over to the windows with white curtains glowing softly from the lights beyond the glass.

Riza pointed ahead to the car they had pulled up behind. "That's the Colonel's car." She said. "He's definitely inside."

Rebecca nodded. "This house is so wonderful." She said with a smile. "You can almost feel the love radiating from it."

Riza smiled. "Yes, that's just the way Gracia always has been." She said. "She always is so loving and wonderful to be around. Little Alicia is going to grow up just fine."

With that, the Lieutenant opened the car door and got out. Rebecca reached for the handle of the car to open the door when she noticed her shoelace dangling to one side of her shoe. She bent over for only a moment to fix her laces when suddenly she felt a swift whistle of air fly right past her ear. A split second later, Rebecca could see a small steaming hole had appeared in the leather seat Riza had been sitting in moments earlier. It was then that it dawned on her- they were being shot at.

"Oh no!" she cried. "Lieutenant! There's a sniper!"

Instantly, Riza dropped to the ground outside of the car just as another bullet came whizzing by, this one apparently aimed at the Lieutenant, as it met its mark in the windshield as it missed her by inches.

Rebecca frantically crawled across the seats as Riza lifted a hand up and opened the door for her. Tumbling from the car, the two women froze as a third bullet met with the tire they crouched in front of. Air hissed from the thick rubber as Riza reached inside of her boot, pulling out a small handgun.

"Oh god." Rebecca muttered in panic. "It's really happening. I really am going to die. For a moment I actually thought I was safe."

Riza glared at her sternly. "You are not going to die." She said. "Not while I am around. Now listen carefully, because we need to make this quick. Whoever is shooting at us is obviously experienced."

She paused as another bullet hit even closer to them; this time shattering the small side mirror that hung above their heads. "They are just trying to scare us out from behind the car right now."

"Yeah, well that's not going to happen!" Rebecca said, attempting to catch her breath as her heart began to pound away in her chest. She had been trained for this, but she never imagined she would ever become involved in a gun fight.

"No, we need to get out of here." Riza countered. "Not only did we lead them to the Colonel, but you are in danger as well. This would be easier if the two of you were not prime targets within only a few yards from each other."

Rebecca swallowed hard, suddenly feeling as if the gun inside her coat had become heavier; a sense of impending doom.

"When the next bullet fires, I want you to run." Riza whispered quickly, cocking her gun. "I know you were trained for this, but it will be hard to keep your mind focused. Just remember to run in a crooked path- do not make yourself predictable. Second, don't look behind you. Keep running, and only focus on escaping on your own. Don't come back for me. Do you understand?"

Rebecca shook her head as another bullet flew through the driver's side window, missing her cue. "I can't!" she cried. "I can't do it! It's crazy to run out from behind here when there's someone hiding above my head with a gun pointed at my back!"

Riza frowned. "If one of those bullets hits the gas tank of this car, I think you'd wish you would have gotten the chance to escape." She said.

That was all that Rebecca needed to hear. As a bullet met its mark only inches from the previous hole in the window, she launched herself from the ground and shot forward with all the speed she could muster. It felt like a hole was surely burning through her back as she imagined the sniper fixing his targeting laser on her. She quickly dodged to the right and then to the right again, remembering to focus her mind on escape. A moment later, she heard the Lieutenant fire her gun, and had to force herself not to look back. She needed to rely on Riza's word- and believe that everything was going to be all right.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Would you like anything else to eat, Roy?"

The Colonel smiled and shook his head. "No thanks Gracia. Your food is too delicious. I'm stuffed."

Gracia Hughes laughed and reached for his dinner plate. "Alright then." She said. "But I do hope you saved some room for desert. I made your favorite apple pie!"

Roy grinned. "I always have room for your pie."

"I've heard that one before." Gracia sighed. "In fact, I hear something else as well." With that, she turned around to see her four year old daughter staring up at her from the base of the stairs in the living room. She had her pajamas on, and had obviously woken from her sleep, because she stood there in a slight daze, rubbing on one eye.

"What are you still doing up, Alicia?" Gracia asked in her motherly voice. "It's past your bedtime you know."

"What's the matter kiddo? Can't sleep?" Roy asked with a smile.

"I heard monsters outside of my window." She said sleepily.

Gracia sighed and put down her dinner plates. "Honey, this is the third time this week. What did I tell you to do when you think you hear monsters?"

Alicia sighed but mumbled, "Say a prayer to daddy."

Gracia smiled and kneeled down in front of her daughter. "Now you know that those monsters aren't real." She said. "So I want you to be really brave and go back upstairs and try to get some sleep."

Alicia turned around and looked up at the stairs, her eyes widening with fear. Her small hands clutched the sides of her footy pajamas nervously.

"I'll walk you up there, kiddo." Roy said, rising from his seat at the table. "How does that sound?"

Alicia turned around with a huge smile. "Really?" she cried happily. "Thank you, Uncle Roy!"

Gracia sighed and rose to her feet as Roy came over to stand next to her. "Thank you." She whispered as Alicia took his hand in hers to lead him up the stairs. He winked and followed the little girl's lead, listening to her tell him how much he was going to like her pink room and all of her toy ponies.

When Alicia was tucked into bed and finally stopped jibber-jabbering about her favorite nursery rhyme, Roy smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, kid." He said. "I'll see you again real soon."

Alicia smiled and nodded, closing her eyes. "Night Uncle Roy. I love you."

The Colonel felt his breath catch in his throat as he heard the little girl's last words before she drifted off to sleep. He smiled and sighed, taking in her peaceful features as she fell asleep.

"I love you too, Alicia." He whispered, turning to leave the room. Shutting the door behind himself, he made his way further down the hall to the bathroom. Turning on the sink, he dipped his hands in the cool water to wash them, when a sudden rustle could be heard outside the bathroom window.

The Colonel froze in his place as the words of Alicia came flooding back to him.

"_There's a monster outside my window._"

As soon as the shadow of a human leg came into view across the curtains covering the window, Roy had already ducked outside and into the hallway. Running into Alicia's room, he rushed over to her bed and lifted her sleeping body from the sheets, and carried her towards the door silently. The little girl stirred slightly in his arms, but stayed asleep, just as the Colonel had hoped for.

Gracia was just setting a pie dish on the table when he reached the bottom of the stairs. The moment she looked up at him, she seemed to understand something was terribly wrong. Her eyes filled with tears, and she hurried to his side to take Alicia from him.

"Go downstairs into the shelter Hughes built for you in the basement." He whispered quietly. "Do not come out until I come down to get you."

Gracia nodded, doing her best to stay calm, but a frightened sob managed to make its way through her lips. Roy brought his hand to her cheek in reassurance. "Everything is going to be okay, Gracia. I won't let anything happen to either of you."

Gracia nodded determinedly and stepped away from him. "Please be careful." She whispered, before heading towards the basement steps. When her husband had been alive, he had insisted on building a trap door leading to a smaller basement far beneath the house, in case of an emergency. Roy watched her go, feeling the determination to protect his best friend's loved ones.

Reaching a hand into his pocket, Roy pulled out one of his pyrotechnic gloves, carefully sliding it on his hand. As he did so, he made his way over to the window and peered through a tiny wrinkle in the curtain to look outside.

The Colonel was shocked to see Lieutenant Hawkeye's car parked behind his, but didn't have a moment more before he saw a hole appear in the passenger's side window, and out through the opposite driver's side. What was even more surprising was seeing the new Private Investigator leap out from behind the car and make a run for the distant houses and trees across the street.

Roy saw his Lieutenant rise from behind the car a moment later and raised her gun towards the house to fire. A moment later, he heard the sound of shattering glass coming from upstairs.

Roy slipped on his other glove and knelt down behind the table. The person was inside the house.

The Colonel strained his ears until he heard the familiar creak of the wooden living room stairs as the stranger made their way down into the room at a quick pace. Roy could see their feet clearly from beneath the table, and he watched them stop in their tracks when they caught sight of the suddenly empty house. Apparently, they had been expecting to find a family settling down to dinner and desert, but instead found themselves staring at the table, void of any activity.

Roy gritted his teeth and wished he could stand up and snap his fingers to fry this bastard to death like they deserved. However, as he watched them a little closer, he could see that they didn't exactly abandon their gun on the roof where they had been hiding. Besides- he needed to focus on getting them out of the house, and needed to avoid little confrontation as possible until they were a safe distance from Gracia and Alicia.

The person ran towards the front window and placed their gun on the windowsill, slowly sliding it through a tiny wrinkle in the curtain at a new angle. Roy heard the click of a bullet being set into the powerful sniper barrel and knew it was the time to act.

Standing up quickly, he held out his hand, in snapping position. "Don't move." He commanded threateningly. "By the order of the military, you are placed under arrest. Do not resist and your punishment will be lessened greatly; unless, of course, you'd rather me fry you down to bone and ashes."

The person didn't seem at all surprised at the Colonel's sudden outburst. In fact, they slowly and calmly cocked the large gun and adjusted the aim before turning to look at Roy from beneath a black nylon mask that hid their features.

"Well, well, if it isn't the infamous Colonel Roy Mustang himself… I should consider myself lucky to be in the presence of this military royalty."

Roy frowned and stepped forward, hearing the sick tone of sarcasm in the man's voice. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want with me?"

The person was about to answer when a gunshot could be heard from outside. The front window shattered and the stranger gasped and dropped to their knees, dead in an instant from the gaping hole blown in their head.

Roy ducked down as another bullet came flying through the window as a shadow ran past the windows along the front of the house. He could hear the Lieutenant's gunfire as well as he realized that there had been two assailants- the one in the house had been a pawn to distract him long enough for the real fight to begin.

Roy ran for the back door of the house and opened the door quietly, stepping outside into the ever-darkening night. Following a path of grass with little leaves, he snuck along the house towards the front.

He could make out the stranger, masked in black nylon as well, firing a large handgun at Riza. She dropped down behind the car, presumably to reload her gun. Her attacker rushed forward, and Roy saw his chance. Running around to the front of the house, he held out his hand and snapped his fingers.

A huge bolt of fire formed instantly above his gloved hand and morphed into a lightning-fast stream of flames that rocketed towards the attacker.

The person turned around just when Roy released the fire as if he had expected such an attack, and barely left enough time to jump out of the way. As the Colonel watched the man evade the shot, he could see the surprise in Riza's eyes and instantly realized he had made a terrible mistake.

The Lieutenant barely had enough time to roll out of the way before the car exploded. The incredible force from it actually assisted in her escape, propelling her halfway across the street.

It all happened so fast… Riza suddenly found herself lying on the pavement with the taste of blood in her mouth. She winced, feeling pain in her chest when she took a breath and knew that she most likely had a few broken ribs. The Lieutenant's training took over, and she carefully assessed her situation instantly, taking in her injuries. Aside from her ribs and the other moderate gashes in her skin, she suddenly realized that her left wrist was numb; trapped beneath her body at an awkward angle.

"Crap." She cursed, letting out her breath with her words.

The sound of sudden footsteps could be heard approaching, and Riza strained to turn her head. The comforting and familiar smell of the Colonel's cologne wafted towards her gently, and she felt suddenly relieved.

"Hawkeye! Gods… Hawkeye are you alright?"

For a moment, the Lieutenant could not find her voice through the blood she finally spit from her mouth. "I'm alright, sir." She whispered hoarsely as she struggled to speak.

From her position on the ground, Riza could see the Colonel kneel down next to her and a moment later, she felt his hands on her back. "Can you tell me where you're hurt?" he asked in concern; his voice held a hushed tone indicating the incredible guilt he must have felt.

"It's… it's just my wrist. I think it's broken. Maybe a few ribs too." She said as best she could through her pain, trying to sound reassuring. "Are you alright sir?"

The Colonel looked at her in surprise, hearing her question. She very well could be in a lot more pain than she was letting on, and if there was one thing the Lieutenant was known for, it was her selflessness. For her to put his safety and well being before her own made the Colonel feel a strong sense of gratitude that he was lucky enough to have her not only as his bodyguard and Lieutenant, but as a close friend as well.

The distant sounds of sirens could suddenly be heard rapidly approaching. Roy lifted his head and Riza could see his eyes widen in relief.

"How is it possible?" he murmured. "The authorities are already on their way?" He kept his eyes on the flashing lights for a moment longer, until a black military vehicle pulled down the street at a quick speed.

Riza closed her eyes as a powerful wave of pain washed over her body, making her shudder. Roy turned to her a moment later, with a renewed hope in his eyes.

"I am going to talk with them." He said, slowly lifting his hands from her. "I'll get the medics to take care of you. Everything is going to be alright."

Riza felt her back go cold as the Colonel left her side. She squinted her eyes in the flashing of the bright vehicle lights as the military cars pulled to a screeching stop. Soldiers hustled out of the cars and hurried to gather around the Colonel, while some gave the orders to patrol the area and others entered the house to retrieve Gracia and Alicia.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye? Can you hear me alright?"

Riza directed her gaze upwards to see a medic standing over her. He was nervously staring down at her as other medics rushed to his side.

She nodded weakly, and the men gathered around her to lift her to her feet.

The world went by her in a frenzied blur of commotion. Soldiers rushed around, gathering together in groups, shouting orders and gathering evidence and pictures. The bright flash from a camera caught Riza by surprise and she staggered to the side slightly, supported by the two medics who assisted her. They guided her past the bright orange flames which still sprung up from beneath the pieces of the exploded car, scattering yellow sparks through the air.

Once she was seated inside one of the medical vehicles, the men went to work wrapping her injured wrist and cleaning up some of her wounds. Peering out of the window in front of her, Riza caught sight of the Colonel standing still amongst the commotion.

Suddenly, a soldier ran to his side, and he quickly turned around and motioned to someone else to join them. Moments later, to her relief, Havoc rushed to Roy's side as well, accompanied by Gracia who still held Alicia in her arms. Roy wrapped his arms around Gracia as she sobbed into him.

"I think this is terrible- there being such a dangerous terrorist and all." One of the medics was saying to his partner as when they were finished wrapping Riza's wrist. They stood outside the car talking in hushed tones with the intention of no one else hearing, not realizing, of course, that Riza could hear.

"I think they are lucky that we got that phone call. Who knows how long they could have been waiting for help to arrive."

The second medic sighed and closed his medical kit shut. "I know what you mean." He said. "I just wish that the woman who called would have said her name. She would have gotten quite a reward for saving two major commanding officers like this."

Riza's eyes widened as it finally dawned on her how help had gotten there so quickly. The only person who could have so quickly figured out what was going on, and knew who to call could have been none other than Rebecca!

"Shit!" she cursed, sliding across the back seat of the medic's car towards the far door. In the confusion, she had completely forgotten about the investigator's escape during the attack. She could only hope that were was enough time to get to her before the enemy did.

She took a quick look around to make sure no one was looking, and then opened the door. Her body was weaker than she expected, and Riza tumbled from the car and landed on her arm, almost hurting her wrist again.

The two medics whirled around mid-conversation at the sound of the car door to find the Lieutenant not in the car anymore. Riza knew she didn't have the time to try to explain what was going on. She wasn't even sure if she had time to save Rebecca.

Scrambling up from the ground, she staggered forward with a painful burst of speed, startling the two medics.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" they cried, rushing around the side of the car as they bumped into each other in the haste.

Roy was in the process of reporting the incident to an investigation officer when he heard the commotion and turned around to see Riza running as best she could across the street.

"Hawkeye?" he called after her as well, immediately forgetting about making his report. He had to stop Riza before she hurt herself even more.

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Author's Note:

First, I'd like to thank all of you for the wonderful comments you have left me. I really appreciate your kind words! .

I also wanted to say that I am going to Anime Next 2006 and Otakon 2006, so if anyone wanted to stop by and meet, it would be awesome! I'm Cosplaying as Riza Hawkeye most of the weekend for both, so look for me!

Chapter 7 will be posted soon… thanks again for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Houses and buildings mixed together in a frightening blur as Rebecca's frantic footsteps echoed across the empty road. A hollow pain began to form itself in her chest as she gasped for breath.

Rounding a street corner, she searched desperately for some place to seek shelter. Her eyes landed on an empty phone booth that stood on the corner of an adjacent street.

The faint hope of reaching someone who could help seemed to echo through her mind as she raced towards the phone. Flinging the door open, she rushed inside and grabbed the phone off the hook and frantically pounded on the buttons to reach the operator.

"Come on!" she cried into the phone. "Someone pick up!"

A calm and soothing female voice answered the phone a moment later.

"Operator- how may I help you?"

"I need you to connect me through to central headquarters!" she cried. "Hurry- it's an emergency!"

"I can connect you to the public line," The operator said calmly, obviously unaware of the haste. "All other lines are off limits to outside locations unless you can provide me with the authorization code."

"That's fine! Just put me through!" Rebecca yelled into the phone.

"One moment please," spoke the slightly insulted operator.

Rebecca glanced around her quickly to be sure no one had followed her. The streets stood empty in shadows, and a light wind blew that rocked the leaves of the overhead trees against each other, creating an eerie crackling sound.

The phone buzzed, ringing endlessly. Rebecca tapped her foot nervously, feeling her breathing quicken. "Come on, pick up…" she whispered.

A crunch of leaves behind her made her gasp and whirl around to face an empty street once more. She pressed herself closer inside the booth and stared out at the shadows surrounding her.

"Hello, Central headquarters, how may I help you?"

The voice on the other end of the phone startled Rebecca and she nearly dropped the phone. Pressing it close to her ear once again, she responded.

"Hello, I need help! I was with Lieutenant Hawkeye and Colonel Mustang a few minutes ago when someone started shooting at us! We need backup down here right away!"

"Alright ma'm, please stay calm. What is your name please?"

"Ugh that doesn't matter right now!" she cried into the phone, not caring if she sounded rude or not. For all she knew, she could be talking to the Furor himself, and it wouldn't have made a difference. "I just need your help! Please- I am in danger too! My life was threatened, and…"

Another crunch came from behind a large tree further down the street from her and the phone booth, and Rebecca's voice got caught in her throat.

"Where are you now, ma'm?"

"I… I got away, but… but the Colonel and Lieutenant… they're still in danger." Rebecca tried as hard as she could to remember the street name that they were on, but of course, all the effort produced nothing.

She gasped, suddenly realizing how to explain their location. "I don't know the name of the street." She said quickly, "but I do know that they are both at the home of the recently departed Brigadier General Hues! They… they were visiting his wife and daughter!"

The person on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment. Finally, they spoke the words Rebecca couldn't have been happier to hear.

"Soldiers are on their way."

Rebecca breathed out a great sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much. I was starting to get so worried…"

A monotone sequenced beeping cut her off mid-sentence and she stood there for a moment, suddenly completely void of thought. The phone had been disconnected.

The metal phone dropped from her open palm as Rebecca slowly turned around. The silhouette of a person could be seen in the shadows behind the phone booth. In their hand were frayed wires, apparently cut from the back of the booth.

Rebecca raised a shaky hand to her mouth, finding her scream stifled in her throat. Without another moment's hesitation, she backed up quickly, forcing the doors to the phone booth open with a loud crash.

Turning her back on her attacker, she bolted forward feeling dizzy from the fear that had managed to tear through her very soul.

She suddenly felt a sharp prick in the back of her leg, making her gasp in pain and stumble forward. Instantly, her entire leg went numb and her very bones seemed to melt away.

Rebecca fell forward onto the pavement hard, unprepared for the sudden loss of feeling in her leg.

At the sound of leaves crunching, Rebecca's eyes widened in horror. She scrambled to get to her feet, but her other leg had suddenly gone numb as well.

Turning around, she saw two thin needles protruding from each of her legs. "What the hell!" she cried, ripping them from her body, not caring about the pain it would bring. Rebecca turned around into the shadows, and saw the silhouette of the person coming closer. Quickly, she reached into her uniform jacket and pulled out the gun that Lieutenant Hawkeye had given her and shakily held it in the person's direction.

"Who the hell are you!" she screamed, while dragging herself backwards with her other arm. "Why are you doing this!"

The person stopped in their tracks and laughed.

"You're quite the hard one to catch, you know." They said in their low and terrifying voice. "That just makes the game more fun, though, Private."

Rebecca gasped, suddenly recognizing their voice. It was the person from the phone call.

As they stepped out from the shadows, Rebecca's eyes widened in terror. She screamed as loud as she could, pulling the trigger of the gun as she aimed it towards her attacker.

-------------------

Colonel Roy Mustang did his best to keep his pace as he followed his Lieutenant. He didn't know where she was going, but he knew that if he didn't stop her, she would only hurt herself even more.

"Hawkeye!" he boomed. "Come back here! That's an order!"

Riza winced, hearing the Colonel's harsh tone, but knew that she had to go on. "Sorry Colonel…" she muttered to herself. "Not this time."

She held her wrist against her body to rid herself of the pain she felt from running, and she labored with her breathing, feeling her ribs worsen with every stride. She knew she could very well crack her ribs to the point that they could pierce her lungs, but right now her own heath and safety didn't matter.

Rounding the street corner, she could feel her body weakening, and struggled to maintain her pace, finding it painful to do so. She took a breath in and felt a stab of pain erupt in her chest.

She had to keep going… for Rebecca's sake.

Up ahead, a tall phone booth stood in her path. A feeling of relief flooded through her veins as she saw the shape of a tall, slender woman standing inside the booth with their back to her.

"Private!" she cried weakly; her voice strained from the pain in her chest. "Rebecca! We're here!"

With a renewed energy, Riza bolted up the sidewalk and grasped the handles of the phone booth, pulling the doors open.

Her eyes widened when she felt Rebecca fall backwards out of the phone booth, into her arms. Thick, dark red blood covered the inside of the booth, running slowly down the glass and splattered all over the phone, which hung off the hook swinging slightly.

She looked down in horror to see Rebecca's skin had turned a terrifying pale of bluish white as her crimson blood poured from the large shredded mess that once was her face.

Riza felt herself fall backwards, suddenly losing the strength to support both herself and Rebecca's corpse. She was now not only covered in her own blood, but also the blood of the Private investigator. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she bent over in pain feeling as if her chest was collapsing. She was in so much pain; she almost didn't notice that Roy had caught up to her until she felt his hands on her shoulders.

The sight of Rebecca's corpse was enough explanation for the Colonel. A sickening feeling enveloped itself in his stomach as he turned away from the investigator painfully.

"Hawkeye…" he murmured, trying to maintain his normal, calm voice. "Hawkeye are you alright?"

Riza didn't move, struggling to breathe. She could still see the tattered and torn corpse of the very woman who had been so alive only fifteen minutes ago. The slick and warm blood that covered her hands and upper body felt acidic, as if it was burning her.

Roy slid his arms underneath her and lifted her off the ground. "You need to breathe." He said, holding her close. "Breathe Hawkeye. Breathe. Everything is going to be alright now."

Riza could feel his warmth surround her as the pain in her chest suddenly subsided. Her vision grew blurry and she turned her head, seeing Rebecca's bloodied body slowly fading from view. Darkness enveloped her vision suddenly, and the Lieutenant saw no more.

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Authors Note:

Yay Gore! Don't ask me why, but my roommate wanted me to kill her off, but she did. She was like, "Oh my gosh you have to make it really bloody, and you need to say _Rebecca's Corpse_ a lot!"

Haha… so this chapter is completely devoted to my roommate Rebecca! RIP! lol


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A soft wind blew across the green open field of the cemetery, stirring the petals of a sakura tree to drift amongst the large group of people standing together in mourning. Military soldiers in their straight-laced uniforms carried a black casket which glinted in the afternoon sun.

Riza never took her eyes off the casket for a moment, watching the soldiers slowly lower it to the ground above the deep grave. A few additional soldiers came forward, accompanying the rest, and drew their muskets, holding them towards the sky.

The officer in charge of the firing squad stepped forward and raised his hand in a salute. "Ready… salute!" he cried in his booming voice.

The soldiers fired their 21-gun salute as Rebecca's casket was slowly lowered into the grave by two officers who kept the weight balanced with ropes attached to either side of the long board the coffin rested on.

Every officer in the crowd lifted their hands in a salute as the coffin slowly disappeared from sight. With every gunshot, Riza felt as though every bullet had been fired into herself.

As the coffin finally disappeared from sight and the salute ended, the officers rested their guns on the ground and began to cover the grave with the newly dug up dirt.

The crowd began to disperse; family walking towards their cars, and military officials gathering together as well. Furor Bradley made his way to Rebecca's mother and father, handing them her uniform hat with a salute.

Looking down in her hand, Riza stared at the bright red rose she held, turning it between her fingers slowly. The petals shone radiantly in the sun, and its simple beauty almost took her breath away.

As the last of the dirt was piled on top of the grave, the military officers all headed towards their cars as well, to make their way back to the military base.

Roy knew better than to go ahead without his Lieutenant. The entire time, he knew of the intense guilt she must have been feeling, and he completely understood it. Only months earlier, he was standing in her shoes, mourning the death of his dearly departed best friend; questioning the very will to live.

The Lieutenant had insisted on attending the funeral service, despite her injuries. Surprising both the doctors and himself, she had managed to rise from bed that morning and get dressed. She was standing beside him still, frozen in place; her eyes gazing at the newly polished gravestone with the young officer's name engraved onto it.

He felt her move forward suddenly, and turned to see her walk slowly towards the grave. Her slight limp reminded him of how much pain she was probably in, and it amazed him to see the great degree of selflessness the Lieutenant possessed.

Riza stopped just in front of the grave and placed her hand on the cold marble. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." She spoke softly. "I promise to avenge your death so you may rest in peace."

She let the rose fall from her hand slowly, watching it contact the ground and raise a small cloud of dust.

"Please forgive me." She whispered, turning around to leave.

She made her way past Roy and headed towards their car to leave; it now stood alone in the cemetery.

The Colonel followed his Lieutenant to the car in silence, not sure of what he should say to her. As she opened the back door for him, he hesitated.

"Maybe… maybe I should drive." He said softly.

Riza looked up at him and smiled slightly. It was the saddest kind of smile, he knew; he could see her eyes glisten as the sunlight shone softly onto her skin, giving it a slight glow. With an awkward step backwards, he dropped his eyes from hers, giving in to her silent protest. He slid into the back seat of the car and felt it shake slightly as she closed his door. A moment later, she climbed into the front seat of the car as well and started the engine.

Roy looked up at her reflection in the rearview mirror, seeing the sadness in her normally soft features. He felt terrible, finding nothing to say in an attempt to make her feel the incredible guilt lift from her shoulders.

The world went by in a blur on their drive back to the military base; trees and houses disappeared from view. Roy narrowed his eyes in thought and stared out at his reflection in the glass which appeared and disappeared in the glare of the sunlight. He couldn't shake the sickening feeling of remorse as he considered what had happened. As much as he hated to admit it, the Private Investigator's death had been so very similar to the way his dear friend Maes Hues had died; the phone booth stood for him to be the very symbol of all he had lost.

If he had let his past subside instead of allowing it to interfere with his judgment of Rebecca, he might have been more willing to work with her during the few days she was actually a part of the working staff of the Central Headquarters. In the surprise of the young officer being assigned to Hues' former office, the Colonel had lost all will to even attempt to work with Rebecca. For that, he could never forgive himself.

Perhaps the similarity in the two officer's deaths had been a sign in itself; a lesson to be learned for the Colonel. Hues and Rebecca had found rest; departed from the troubled world he had yet to figure out. He knew that through their deaths, perhaps as Hues had given him knowledge in his death, Rebecca had also given Riza something in hers. Perhaps it was merely the chance to appreciate life, or maybe it was something more.

As they pulled to a stop at the military base, the sun was slowly setting, casting orange and yellow rays of light through the trees overhead.

Roy didn't wait for the Lieutenant to get out and open his door when she shut the car off. Instead, he exited from the car quickly and pulled her door open, seeing the surprise in her eyes.

"There's no giving up on this." He said, extending his hand to her. "We can figure this whole thing out. I'll be with you every step of the way, Lieutenant. No matter how alone you may feel right now, you've still got at least one person by your side."

Riza looked up at her commanding officer, seeing his determined smile. For a moment, she hesitated, not knowing how to react to such kindness she was hardly ever offered. Slowly, she extended her arm and placed her hand in his, finding herself surprised at its warmth.

Roy guided her from the car and let her hand go to close the door behind her. Riza looked up at the tall building and squinted her eyes in the light of the setting sun. Rebecca's office window seemed to be illuminated in the sun's dying light, and just for a moment, she thought she saw the shape of two people standing at the window, smiling down at her. The familiar shape of Hues and the slender form of Rebecca stood there in her memory, with the promise of hope. She smiled and turned to face Roy.

"Let's go." She said. "We've got work to do."

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Author's Note:

This chapter was also kind of sad… wow, I'm so upbeat! Yay life! Haha

Well, anyway, I really don't have much to comment on with this chapter… just wanted to thank you all for reading and keeping up with my story. I'll post the next chapter soon! )

xoxo


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The office seemed empty, although Rebecca's things were still left behind in their normal places. Riza clutched the cardboard box in her hands for a moment, looking down into its empty shadows.

She had felt it was her duty to remove the investigator's things from her office. It was the least she could do for Rebecca. Besides- three days had passed since the incident had occurred, and she knew the investigator's things couldn't stay there forever.

She set the box down on the desk and went to work collecting all the papers and placing them into a folder. It looked as if ink had been spilled everywhere; a majority of the papers on one end of her desk were covered in dried black dye, most of them ruined. She still collected everything together neatly and filed them away, following orders.

Earlier that morning when she had first arrived at the headquarters, she had received a note on her desk that had instructed her to remove everything from the office that had once belonged to Rebecca. It had been made quite clear that she was to bring everything she had found in the office, no matter what it may be, and hand it in to a ranking officer involved in the investigations department to be stored away.

After the papers were cleared away, she placed the pens as well as the half empty ink well into the box on top of the folder. A small clock followed, its hands ticking away still, even after its owner's time had expired.

Riza removed the last item from the desk; a tiny bronze picture frame with hazy glass. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and wiped at its surface until it was clean. A hollow sadness surrounded the Lieutenant as she looked down into the faces of the people in the picture. A happy family stared back at her, all of them standing together outside of a large country house. Two cats and a spotted dog joined the picture, almost bringing it to life.

Riza stared at the blue sky behind them, and for a moment she could almost feel the light breeze of the wind blowing off the lake behind the house. Slowly, her surroundings became blurred in focus on the picture, as her own memories of the past slowly came alive.

_The sky had never been a brighter blue, and the sun seemed to sparkle down from the heavens with a warm glow. The white house stood in the spring sunlight, its white shingles in a perfect contrast with the hunter green shutters. A woman stood in the thick green grass pulling clothes off the line as a large golden dog romped through the fields behind the house accompanied by a small child with a stick in his hand. There was the smell of freshly baked pie in the air, wafting slowly on the wind from its place on the kitchen windowsill where it sat to cool. Far off in the distance from behind an old fence raced a sleek dark brown horse; her mane rippling like the current of the vast ocean waves. The clouds of dust rose around her and caught the sunlight in small beams of light and she lifted her head and whinnied to the skies and land behind her fences; to the freedom and far off places she had never been. _

_That's when they came. The noisy black car that spilled exhaust in the air as its motor rattled loudly. The men in blue uniforms piled from the car and her name could be heard drifting from their conversation as they stood on the lawn with the woman, not caring if the laundry still hadn't been finished, or that lunch was ready, or that the little boy had fallen and scraped his knee. They had come for one thing- to take her away._

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant, are you alright?"

Riza snapped her head up and blinked, seeing the Colonel standing in the doorway, looking concerned.

She nodded quickly, placing the picture frame into the box. "Yes sir." She said. "I'm fine- you don't need to worry. I was just lost in thought."

Roy leaned against the doorframe lightly, watching Riza go back to work arranging the things in the box she stood in front of. He stood there for a moment in silence, preparing the words he wanted to say to her.

"Lieutenant, do you have anything planned for this evening?"

Riza stopped arranging Rebecca's things and looked up from the box with a slightly confused expression. "Not at the moment, sir…"

"Good. Then would it be possible for you to come by my house later tonight? I would like to discuss the recent events with you in private."

The strange nervousness that had managed to coil itself in her stomach was let loose hearing the Colonel's reasoning, and Riza sighed to herself in relief of an unknown stressor.

"Yes, sir. That would be fine." She answered.

Roy nodded and turned to leave the office. "Come around seven." He said. "You can bring your dog too if you'd like."

Riza couldn't help but smile as soon as the door was shut behind the Colonel. More accurately stated, the Colonel would have liked to have her dog visit; she really could care less if she brought the dog or not.

She reached into the box quickly and removed the small picture frame, tucking it into the inside pocket of her uniform jacket. It just felt right to keep it; she never liked to disobey orders, but something inside of her was holding on tight to the picture now. Perhaps she could bring it to Rebecca's family and give it to them. It just seemed like the right thing to do than let it sit in the box, all taped up and stored away forever in the store room of similar items collected from both soldiers fallen and M.I.A.

Riza gathered the box in her arms and turned to leave, taking a long look around to room to be sure she hadn't forgotten anything. There hadn't been much to collect since the investigator hadn't been with them long, but there still felt as if something was missing as the items in the box moved around in the free space inside.

With a sigh, she left the office, shutting the door behind her. From within the box, she could hear the muffled ticking of the clock from the desk and she sighed as she walked down the long hallway. Another day had managed to slip away, almost out of reach in the rays of the setting sun.

In the glare from the windows beside her, Riza could make out the familiar shape of Second Lt. Jean Havoc- the person who she needed to hand over the box to.

The handsome young blonde soldier turned to face her and smiled with his usual cigarette in the corner of his mouth. "How's it going, Lt. Hawkeye?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning up against the wall.

Riza smiled. "I'm doing okay." She said. "I just finished collecting things from the recently departed Investigator's office for you to put away."

Havoc nodded and took the box from her. "Okay, sounds good. Thanks, Lieutenant." He blew a cloud of smoke from the corner of his mouth and smiled. "Have a good night- see ya tomorrow."

Riza nodded and turned around to leave, as did Havoc in the opposite direction. She sighed, feeling as if a weight had been removed from her shoulders. In a sense, of course, it had- with the passing of the investigator's things that were left behind, she knew it would be easier to focus on her task of piecing together the devastating crime without distractions.

As she passed by the investigator's former office, she was almost surprised to see a soldier in front of the door with a tool in his hand, removing Rebecca's nameplate from the door. Riza stopped and watched as he removed the last screw, dropping it into his tool box. He let the nameplate fall into his open hand.

"I'll take that." She said, stepping forward.

The soldier turned around, and when he saw her, he straightened up in a salute. "Good evening Lt. Hawkeye." He held out the nameplate to her. "Here you go, sir."

Riza nodded and took it from him. "As you were." She said, continuing down the hallway.

With a sigh, she looked down at the brass plate in her hand, the investigator's name engraved into it. Slipping it into her jacket pocket, she could hear it rest against the picture frame- right where it belonged.

Stepping into the office she shared with her fellow subordinates, she reached for her jacket that hung on the coat rack by the door and slid it on as she exited from the room as quickly as she had come.

Normally this would feel like the end of the day to her. However, she still had to meet with the Colonel about Rebecca's death. He was, of course, most likely confused even in the slightest with the whole situation, and he obviously preferred to hear it from Riza directly as to what exactly had happened, instead of relying on gossip and exaggerated stories from other officers. Besides- she knew she owed him an explanation for having to run away even after he had ordered her to stop.

She walked outside, feeling a soft breeze on her face. The air was beginning to grow cooler, and felt refreshingly like fall was approaching. She smiled, looking forward to seeing the leaves of the trees change to different colors and accumulate on the ground. It gave so much color to the dismal environment she had grown accustomed to while working at the military headquarters. No matter what base she had been transferred to over the years she had served, fall had always remained to be the saving grace that offered a sign of life to her throughout those tough times. Watching the falling leaves stood for change; a change not only in weather, but in time, people, and most importantly, herself.

Riza approached her car and opened the door, getting inside. Turning the key in the ignition, she let it sit for a moment to warm up before pulling out of the parking lot and onto a normal road.

She was, in a sense, like one out of an endless number of leaves that grew on the tree of life; of fate and destiny. Throughout her life, she had grown from being green and novice to the ways of the world and the people who inhabited it. Slowly over time, she had shaped herself into someone she was proud to be; the woman who made a vow to protect that one special man no matter the circumstances. Ever since she had made that promise, her life had suddenly erupted into color. Her family, friends, and memories all blended together in a transition as she moved slowly through life, as does a changing leaf. Slowly, she knew her edges would begin to brown, and when it was her time, she would join the millions of others who would shrivel up and drift away to the unknown that stood beyond the horizon; or perhaps merely at the base of a large oak tree.

Riza checked her rearview mirror and turned onto a less-busy street as the sun's last rays begun to cast shadows through the trees that stretched and contorted into un-recognizable shapes and figures on the pavement. Quickly glancing down at her watch hidden beneath her sleeve, she could see that it was 6:30. She had just enough time to return home, change her clothes, and struggle to get Black Hayate into the car, of who desperately needed to get over his fear of traveling on anything more powerful than his own four legs.

Her small house was a comforting sight as she pulled to a stop at the curb. Shutting off the car, she opened the door and climbed out, buttoning the top button of her trench coat as the wind picked up a little more.

She opened the gate to her iron fence and shut it behind herself as she ascended the three short stairs before her front door. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out her keys and slid the correct one in the lock, letting herself inside.

She barely had enough time to take off her jacket before the barking and whimpering black ball of fir had made its way down the hallway at an excited romp. Riza smiled and bent down to greet her dog, letting him push up onto her with his front paws on her knee to lick her face.

It was nice to be welcomed home, if only by her dog. For so long, Riza had come home to an empty house; at least now she knew that someone was there waiting for her at the end of the day.

Patting the young dog on the head, she rose to her feet and walked through the small living room, down the hallway and turned left at the second doorway into her room. She knew it wasn't necessary to show up at the Colonel's home wearing her military garb, but there were few times she had ever dressed casually around him. She honestly didn't know what to wear.

Opening her closet doors, she stood there for a moment, searching slowly over the clothes with her eyes. She finally reached out and pulled a hanger off the rack. A plain, light gray knee-length skirt, light pink blouse, and matching plain, light gray blazer hung on the hanger, seeming new and clean as if she had never worn it before.

Removing her uniform, she quickly dressed, enjoying the feel of a different material against her skin. Stepping into dark gray pumps, she walked over to her full-length mirror to take a look at herself, praying she looked at least halfway decent. Seeing her reflection, it was quite surprising to find herself in fact pleased with the woman who started back at her. She smiled and walked over towards her dresser, at the same time reaching behind herself to feel where her gun sat beneath the blazer in its holster. Of course, she never felt safe if she wasn't wearing her gun, and probably never would. Other than that, however, it felt nice to dress casually for a change.

She let her hair loose and brushed it before pulling it back up into her usual bun, taking one last look in the mirror before heading towards the door. Scooping up the wriggling dog in her arms, Riza managed to pick up her keys as well and opened the front door, finally shutting it behind herself. The light that stood outside her fence had just clicked on the moment she reached for the gate to unlatch it, which managed to steal the attention of her dog who had been trying to wriggle out of her grasp.

She had him inside the back seat of the car before the poor dog knew what was happening. With a defeated whimper, he slumped down against the comfortable leather seats and rested his head in his paws, looking up at her with sad eyes.

Riza climbed in the driver's seat and stole a look at him before starting her car. "You're ridiculous." She sighed. "It's really not that bad to ride in a car, you know. Besides- we're going to visit Roy. That always makes you happy."

She paused for a moment, surprised at her own words. She had absent-mindedly addressed her commanding officer by his first name! It was strange to hear this, especially coming from her own mouth.

With a shake of her head, she started the engine and pulled away from the curb after taking a quick peek at the time. It was only 6:45- she had plenty of time to get to the Colonel's house.

It wasn't until recently that she and the Colonel had really grown as close as they were. Roy was a pretty hard man to figure out; he had a dark past that haunted his every step. Riza knew it would take a special person to bring out his genuine smile; to be trusted to his darkest secrets and to really be let into his life. Hughes had done it, breaking boundaries and forming a special friendship with the Colonel, and she hoped that their relationship would continue to grow stronger so that some day he could let her into his heart too.

Riza sighed and brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes, still focused on the road. She had almost forgotten the underlying reason as to why she was going to Roy's house in the first place. It wouldn't be easy to re-tell the events of what had taken place over the last few days, she knew, but the Colonel deserved an explanation. A hollow feeling of guilt welled up in her heart upon remembering how she had run away from him- away from his direct orders for her to stop. He had merely been worried about her, and yet she had been forced to ignore him.

Riza shook her head slightly, trying to shake the depressing thoughts from her mind. Ever since she could remember, she had made an oath to herself that she would always protect the Colonel no matter what; she would never hesitate in drawing her weapon until Roy achieved his goals.

A sudden bark from Black Hayate brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked into the rearview mirror to see her dog standing up in the back seat, looking as if he was trying to lift his leg and balance as the car moved along at the same time.

"Shit!" Riza cursed, pulling over to the side of the road. "Don't you dare go to the bathroom in this car, Hayate!"

She leapt from the car and yanked the back door open. With a quick scoop, she lifted the dog out of the back seat and ran him over to the curb and sat him down in the grass.

With a slightly confused expression, Hayate rose to his feet, looked over his shoulder at her to be sure he was allowed to go to the bathroom, and began to sniff around.

Riza sighed in frustration. There was no way she would be at the Colonel's house on time now. She let her breath out to calm herself. It wasn't her dog's fault he was… well… a dog.

Turning around, Riza looked across the street to see a small store. There might be a chance that it was still open, and hopefully the owner could let her use their phone to make a call to the Colonel. He most likely wouldn't mind her being late, she knew, but it would be best to call him just to let him know in advance so he didn't worry about her.

Hayate finished doing his business and jumped back into the back seat through the open door, temporarily adjusted to the car ride. Riza closed the door behind him and got into the front seat, turning on the car. She rolled down the back windows slightly so her dog would be able to breathe properly, and then she shut off the engine and left the vehicle, closing the door behind herself.

Walking across the street towards the small store, she could see the "closed" sign in the window of the front door. With a sigh, she stopped in front of the darkened windows, finding no sign of life within the small shop.

A few dry leaves scattered across the ground in a light breeze and she turned around. There, towards the side of the store, hidden in shadows was an empty phone booth.

A cold fear began to twist through her body against her will as the events that had taken place slowly began to come back to her in frightening detail. She shook her head, attempting to convince herself that she was being foolish. She needed to make that phone call, and a bad memory wouldn't be a proper excuse for the Colonel when he was to ask her why she hadn't let him know she was going to be late.

She heard the crunch of leaves under her feet as she made her way over to the phone booth, seeming to be loud and uninviting; as if it was warning her to leave the area at once.

She could see herself in the glass of the phone booth as she finally stopped. She was mildly surprised to see her eyes widened slightly with fear and immediately she didn't like it. To her, fear was a weakness, and she couldn't have a weakness if she was to protect the Colonel.

With a motivated step forward, she pulled the doors of the booth open and stepped inside.

Thick, dark red blood covered the inside of the booth, running slowly down the glass and splattered all over the phone, which hung off the hook swinging slightly… Looking down in her arms she could feel Rebecca once again in her grasp, staring up at her with the shredded mass of what had been left of her face.

With a cry, Riza pushed herself backwards out of the phone booth, landing on her back outside of the booth. The door hung open, and she could see the clear polished glass. There was no sign of blood or of Rebecca's corpse.

With a shaky gasping breath, she lifted her hands to her face. Why couldn't she move on? So many other times before she had seen people mutilated right before her eyes. She had heard their screams of pain, and had turned away- able to withstand the great war and life of a soldier.

This was different though. War had its particularly horrifying blood and gore, and the life of soldier was certainly not one of ease or beauty. Even in war, however, there is some sort of humane undertone; some sort of rules or regulations that although they are unwritten, every soldier knows to obey them. This… this had been a cold blooded murder. Someone with no soul had taken the life of a completely innocent woman- and it had been no mistake. It had been perfectly planned, and perfectly executed without flaws. It would be especially hard to even find signs of this perpetrator, never mind bringing him down. The fact that this person had so easily destroyed the life of another person was the scariest part of the whole terrible murder.

She could remember how afraid the Private Investigator had been upon first being contacted by the…

Riza snapped her head up quickly.

She had forgotten all about that! Her mind began to race quickly in reverse, back to the last conversation she held with Rebecca. She had gotten a strange note from someone… and then a phone call from a person who seemed to threaten her life. When she had cleaned out her office, she hadn't thought to look for the note… and she could clearly remember not seeing the phone at all.

She scrambled off the ground quickly, wincing at the pain that stabbed her in her ribs, silently reminding her of her injuries. She no longer thought of calling the Colonel to explain why she was going to be late. A forgotten detail which had hidden itself away in her memories just might have granted her with the first step of finding Rebecca's murderer.

Jumping into the front seat of the car, she slammed the door and turned on the engine, quickly pulling away from the curb.

"Change of plans, Hayate." She said, "We're going to Central."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Central Headquarters stood ahead, shrouded in a dark mist that had rolled down from the mountains surrounding the small town. Riza opened the door to her car and shut it behind herself quietly after letting Hayate hop out as well.

With a cautious turn of her head, she quickly surveyed the area around them, scooping the dog into her arms. It didn't seem like anyone was around to see them, and she headed quietly towards the door located on the side of the building.

She slid her key into the lock on the door and opened it, trying not to make it creak too loudly. Once inside, she closed the door behind herself and put Hayate down. She removed her flashlight from her belt by her gun and clicked it on.

Ahead of her stood the stairs that lead up into the higher levels of the headquarters. Without hesitation, Riza hurried forward with her dog following at her side obediently, and began her ascent. She knew that being in the building after hours without permission from her commanding officers was strictly forbidden, and if she was caught taking things she was without a doubt going to be in big trouble. There was even a chance that she would be removed from the military and be thrown in jail.

Riza shook her head and picked up her pace, making sure she kept within the shadows of the hallway. Beyond the curve up ahead stood the Colonel's office, she knew, and then Rebecca's. With crossed fingers, she prayed she could find what she needed to find in her office; hopefully no one had completely cleaned out the office yet.

Reaching the Investigator's former office, she tried the handle, finding it locked. Reaching for her keys, she fumbled with them in the hopes that one would open the door.

"Dammit." She cursed, resting her forehead against the door in frustration. Someone must have changed the locks already… how was she going to get in now?

"Only high ranking officials are given master keys." She whispered. "There's no way I can get to one tonight…"

She snapped her head up, suddenly remembering the one "commanding officer" of whom was still waiting for her to show up at his house. With a groan, she pushed off the door she was propped up against, and hurrying further down the hallway towards the MIA room. Hopefully she could at least find the box with Rebecca's things in them. If the note that the late investigator mentioned was in the box, then at least she would have some sort of collateral for the Colonel when she showed up at his house an hour late at the very least. She… she could just tell him that she had uncovered a last-minute lead in the case.

She reached the door in a few moments and quickly went through the keys to find the correct one. As soon as she selected a key, however, a faint shuffle reached her ears from further down the hallway. Hayate pricked his ears for only a moment, but then turned his attention back on his mistress.

Riza hesitated only a second longer before she slid the key into the lock and opened the door. She hurried into the darkness of the room and began to search the endless rows of shelves and boxes, hoping to find the box that contained Rebecca's things.

Most of the newest things were towards the middle or bottom of the shelves. Looking upwards, the Lieutenant could see dusty old boxes piled high to the ceiling, and she could only imagine how old some of them were.

She ran her hand over the boxes level to her eyesight, reading over their dates and last names scribbled in black ink. As her hand drifted over an "H", she drew it back quickly. The familiar name stared back at her on the box that was slowly beginning to collect dust.

"Brigadier General Hughes." She read out loud. "Taking into account the past connection between him and Rebecca… I'd bet that her box would be right around here."

Sure enough, when she shined her flashlight to the right onto the next box, Rebecca's last name could be seen, newly written in black ink. With a good-natured sigh, she slid her flashlight into the holster on her belt and gathered the box into her arms, lowering down to the floor.

She was about to open the box when a low growl emitted from Black Hayate's throat. Riza looked up to see her dog standing in the doorway facing the hallway. His tail wagged slightly and his ears were perked forwards as he growled.

Rising to her feet slowly, Riza placed a hand on her gun unconsciously and pressed against the shelves to conceal herself. If there was someone else in the building, she would be in trouble if she was caught.

"Hayate!" she hissed. "Hayate come!"

Her dog flicked an ear towards her in response and stood his ground for only a moment longer before retreating to her obediently. She patted him and coaxed him into his sitting position. "Stay." She whispered, placing a finger to his nose lightly.

Her dog blinked his honest brown eyes, acknowledging his mistress's command. Riza looked up from the dog to look down the hallway. No one could be seen coming down the hallway, and she could only hope that whatever Hayate heard had been no more than a mouse.

Still, precaution dominated her mind and she quickly reached into the box in front of her, removing the folder that held all the papers she had collected from Rebecca's desk. Closing the box once again, she stood up and slid the box back into place on the shelf.

With a slight gesture with her hand to Hayate, she turned towards the door to leave the room, hearing the light footsteps of the dog behind her.

She had the key in her hands in an instant as she closed the door behind herself. Up until the moment she felt a hand on her shoulder, everything had seemed almost too easy. Black Hayate hadn't even had the time to register the fact that someone else was with them so suddenly.

Riza whirled around quickly, stepping back against the door to balance herself. She felt her head spinning with excuses, and yet none could come to mind in the excitement.

"Somehow I thought I would find you here."

The Lieutenant gasped at the familiar male voice, and suddenly her confusion seemed to subside. She looked up into the handsome face of Colonel Mustang, standing in front of her with his arms crossed and a look of mild concern on his face.

So that was the explanation- the reason Black Hayate hadn't attacked as he had been trained to do. The brief moment of relief passed as it suddenly occurred to Riza that she had major explaining to do- probably even more so than she would normally have for anyone else who could have caught her there.

"Sir- I… I can explain…" she stammered, feeling her words catch each other in her haste. She dropped her eyes from his, feeling her face begin to flush with shame. Was there even any way to ask for forgiveness for what she had done?

The Colonel was silent for a moment, his eyes still fixed on his Lieutenant in the darkness of the hallway. Lifting a hand and running it through his black hair, he sighed. "Let's get out of here." He said quietly. "Then we'll talk."

Riza nodded, a little surprised that he hadn't barraged her with an angry tirade right then and there like she deserved. She waited until he began to walk down the hallway before following three strides behind him, with Black Hayate by her side. Never before had she felt so terrible. She had managed to let down the only person she had ever felt the need to submit herself to; the only person she allowed herself to grow close to. Now she felt like she had disappointed him in a sense; he must have felt so betrayed by her. Recently she had subconsciously shut him out of everything- her life, her thoughts, and even the case itself, of which he had every right to be a part of as much as she did- if not more.

She almost hadn't noticed they had reached the exit to the building until she felt the wind blow her hair back as Roy opened the door. He held the door open for her, waiting for her to pass. She walked by him slowly, hugging the folder to her body submissively, still avoiding eye contact.

She felt insignificant, not worthy of any affection or forgiveness.

Hayate bounded through the small parking lot and over towards their cars that sat next to each other, shrouded in moonlight. Riza was about to open the door to her car, when she heard Roy come up behind her.

"Come with me." He said in a monotone voice that made her cringe inwardly. She knew this voice- it was the tone of voice he used on his lowest officers- the ones who he held no respect nor care for; an emotion-less tone of voice.

She followed behind him once more, watching her dog bound up ahead of them towards the grassy hill that stood beyond the parking lot towards the back of Central Headquarters.

The misty gray mountains stood far in the distance like mere shades of darkness in the night as the emerald grass blew lightly, illuminated in the pale moonlight. It was hard to believe that they were so close to a military base; it seemed as though they had stepped through a portal into another world all together.

Roy reached the edge of the hill and stopped, watching as Black Hayate happily slid down the embankment on his hind legs and landed in a soft array of wildflowers.

Riza watched him, feeling ashamed that he had to come all the way to Central from his own home just to meet up with her. He deserved an explanation, at the very least.

"Sir, I… I think that I may have found a lead that we could use to solve this case. I… I know I am not allowed to be in the headquarters at these hours without permission, but I believe that this is…"

The young Colonel suddenly turned around to face Riza, interrupting her sharply.

"It doesn't matter! You cannot just enter the headquarters whenever you please!" he spoke sternly, catching her off guard. "You are well aware of the rules, Lieutenant."

Riza looked up at him, her words stolen away the moment she caught a glimpse of his expression. It held both disappointment and anger, and it shamed her to think that she was the cause of such stress.

"Lately you've been rash- too rash; acting without thought, not giving me any answers for your actions, and completely disregarding protocol in appropriate situations. Honestly, I have no idea what has come over you."

A hollow pain surged within the Lieutenant as she stood her ground, listening to Roy's angry words, all of which she deserved completely. She wished that she could find the courage or the words to speak.

From his place at the edge of the hill, Roy sighed, letting his breath out quickly. He had so many troubling things he was urging to bring up with the Lieutenant… but somehow as he caught sight of her standing there in front of him, his anger subsided. She wasn't trying to make excuses for herself, or retort with some angry response. In fact, she almost looked… sad.

Turning his back to her to hide his quickly dissipating anger, he turned his attention to Black Hayate, who was nestled in the soft grass, napping in the moonlight.

Riza felt the breeze blow her hair back slightly as she watched the Colonel turn away from her. A strange and unfamiliar pain burned in her eyes as her surroundings began to blur. Surprised, she blinked, trying desperately to regain control of herself. She had never cried in front of **anyone**- not once since she could remember… and now suddenly she felt herself about to break down.

"I… I feel like I can't trust you right now, Hawkeye. It hurts me to say that, but it also hurts me because it's true."

Riza looked up quickly in surprise at his startling words; never had someone's words stung her so sharply.

"It might be best if… if you removed yourself from the case altogether." Roy continued with his back still facing her. "It seems like you are too stressed, Lieutenant, and I don't want that to endanger yourself or this case."

He slowly turned around to face her, almost loosing the strength to say what he needed to when he saw her crushed expression that she was trying so hard to hide from him.

"So… I am making it official and… removing you from this case myself." He finished weakly. "It's the only way."

Riza stood there in silence still, all thoughts and feeling had fled her; she felt like a statue braced against a tidal force wind.

She gradually gathered the courage to look her commanding officer in the eye. It felt like an eternity until she was gazing at him, and it hurt her to see him so decided; she could see he was in no position to take back his words.

"I… I'm sorry, sir." She began weakly, hearing her voice quiver. "I... I'm sorry I let you down. I promised to always stand behind you, and I won't take that back now. I accept whatever you think is right."

Before she could grasp what she was doing, her heart had taken over and she found herself turn away from him and walk away at a quick pace, not wanting to look back.

From his place at the bottom of the hill, Black Hayate heard his mistress start to leave and bounded up the slope past Roy to join Riza at her side obediently.

The young colonel watched his Lieutenant retreat, feeling the wind blow his hair forward slightly. His clenched his fists at his sides, feeling guilty at what he had said to Riza. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant…" he whispered. "This is the only way… the only way I can protect you from the pain I have to feel every day of my life."

-----------------------

Author's Note:

Hey, sorry for not updating sooner… I was just really busy this weekend. Finals are coming up soon and I've been studying and trying to hang out with friends at the same time.

The ending of this chapter may be a little confusing to some of you now, but it will all be explained later on, I promise! As always, I just want to thank all of you for reading my story and for sending me such kind comments.

Stay posted for Chapter 11! .

xoxo


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

She must have sped all the way home in some sort of trance… Riza suddenly seemed to find herself sprawled on her bed. Her blonde hair splayed around her head in waves of gold as she slowly glided her arm across her soft sheets to rest on her stomach.

Lifting her head, she looked at the clock on her night stand. The blurry red numbers that displayed 2:21am hurt her eyes in the darkness of her room, and she rested back down, gradually feeling the heavy sadness returning to her.

_Did it all really happen? _Riza looked up, watching her white silk curtains blow outwards in the breeze from the open window above her bed. She sighed, closing her eyes to the starry sky she managed to catch a glimpse of before the curtains moved in way of her view.

Everything seemed to have been a dream. The memory of what had taken place earlier played through her mind in clouded short segments of picture. She groaned, as a sickening feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach.

She hadn't been this upset since… since before she had become a soldier. When she was a normal young woman with a heart set on falling in love. Since then, over all the years, she had grown accustomed to pain and suffering; her heart had grown cold and unfeeling. She had been unable to show emotion; unable to cry.

Opening her eyes slowly, she exhaled softly, calling to mind the words Roy had spoken to her all too honestly. He had said many things that had hurt her, but one had managed to make her heart break. It was the fact that she had been told she couldn't be trusted; she couldn't be trusted by the only person she had ever wanted to gain the trust of.

Rolling onto her stomach, Riza gathered her cool pillow in her arms and hugged it into her body. Through all the pain, she almost wished for the chance to cry. It could at least give her a chance to remember what it was like to feel real emotions again… she could like a normal woman; even if only for a moment, she wouldn't be a straight-laced soldier, but a normal human being with feelings.

Slowly, her amber eyes drifted closed. Maybe she'd never figure out the way things had to fall into place like the sad fate she was slowly getting used to.

If there was one thing she _was _sure of, however, it was the firm determination of never letting go of her goals. She had promised she would always stand behind the Colonel and accept his ways, but she had also made a promise to Rebecca- that she would avenge her death. These two promises seemed to contradict each other; which one was the right one to follow through, and which one was wrong? This appeared to remain the only problem which seemed to tug painfully at her heart. Which promise would she find herself able to keep in the end?

Riza sighed, hoping sleep could take her away from all the pain she felt. It didn't seem fair- she didn't want to make such a decision.

--------

Morning came quickly; the sunlight streamed in through the open window, creating dapples of light across the navy blankets of the bed. Riza rolled over and opened her eyes; the sickening feeling still sat in the pit of her stomach from the events of the night before.

She rose from bed and dressed, sticking to her routine. As she was about to exit her room, she realized that the folder she had taken the night before was sitting on her dresser where she had strewn it. Picking it up thoughtfully, she ran her fingers over it; her thoughts were still on the case at hand. She placed the folder in her bag, not wanting to hold it any longer. It made her think too much of the choice she had made.

On her way to the headquarters, the Lieutenant found herself mildly nervous to see Roy. He had been so angry and upset with her… she could only hope that things wouldn't feel uncomfortable between them today.

She kept her eyes on the road, although she wasn't really seeing anything in detail. Her mind's eye still focused on the Colonel's expressions from the night before, when he had told her he couldn't trust her. She was still surprised at how that had made such a powerful impact on her.

Headquarters seemed no different to her than it had the night before, as she parked her car upon arrival. Last night, it had seemed dark and uninviting; the only difference being there were people inside the building now.

With a calm and collected air, she entered the building, nodding to the officers who saluted a "good morning" to her by the entrance. The staircase never seemed so steep, as she slowly ascended, feeling her nervousness grow with every step.

She could have stopped walking and still would have come upon the office door too fast. Finding herself staring at the door, Riza took a deep breath, knowing she would have to get it all over with sooner or later.

Opening the door, she walked inside with her eyes down as she normally would enter the room.

The men were sitting around the room, engaged in some "manly" conversation. As she wandered over towards her desk, she managed to steal a quick peek at the Colonel's desk and found him resting his head on his hand as he listened to the gossip of his subordinate officers.

Havoc was propped up against the desk he was next to, puffing on his usual cigarette. Breta and Fulman sat on either end of the sofa in the room, and Fury stood behind them.

"So you're telling me that you actually found a date last night?" Breta was asking skeptically.

Havoc grinned and blew out a cloud of smoke, watching it slowly dissipate before responding. "Like I said, she was the sweetest girl. She had nice, soft brown hair and real pretty blue eyes. I gotta tell ya- she bakes a damn good cherry pie. "

"Sounds like a good catch to me. I'd like to meet her then." Roy commented suddenly, catching everyone off guard as he spoke so suddenly.

"Oh no you don't!" Havoc cried, nearly dropping his cigarette from his mouth. "The last time you 'met' one of my girlfriends she dumped me on the spot and went on a date with you instead!"

Breta laughed. "You know the colonel!" he said, "He always gets the women he wants."

"Speaking of which," added Fury in his usual innocent way, "How was your night, sir?"

Things had been going smoothly until that question. Riza could feel her cheeks redden upon hearing so, and she was afraid to turn around to hear Roy's answer.

"It was fine." Roy answered dryly, twirling a pen between his fingers, seemingly uninterested in their conversation.

Riza looked over at him in amazement; had he shrugged off the reality of the past night as if nothing had taken place?

"What, no women last night?" Havoc asked with a grin. "That's strange to hear. You must be losing your touch, Colonel."

"He was just waiting for you to get another girlfriend." Breta retorted. "I'm sure his nights will be a little more interesting now hearing how nice your new girl is!"

Havoc glared at Breta and the others who were currently laughing hysterically at Breta's joke.

Luckily, the men were interrupted by a knock at the door. Fulman, who was closest, reached the door first and opened it. A short, thin woman smiled up at him, wearing the uniform fitting of a secretary.

"Good morning, sir. The General sent me here to deliver a message to Colonel Mustang."

Fulman nodded and turned around. "Sir, General Haruko's secretary."

The woman stepped forward, and nodded. The usual blush rose to her cheeks as she locked gazes with the Colonel. "General Haruko sent me to remind you that papers he requested are to be completed by today. You may bring them to his office whenever they are finished."

Roy grinned, seeing her obvious infatuation with him, as many women were.

Riza looked down at her desk to see the short stack of papers that she had completed the day before, feeling angry that yet another woman had a childish crush on the Colonel.

"I will bring them over right away." She said to the woman, stepping forward. All else aside, she needed an excuse to get out of the office for a while. Although the Colonel hadn't spoken to her yet, she still felt the urge to avoid him for some reason.

The secretary almost seemed disappointed that Roy hadn't spoken to her, but she nodded. "Thank you." She said, "I will let the General know." With that, she exited the office.

Riza gathered up the papers quickly, neatly evening them on top of each other and smoothing their edges with her fingertips. With a final glance to be sure they were all there and in order, she headed for the door to the office and exited into the busy hallway, feeling her fellow officers watching her.

"I almost hadn't noticed the Lieutenant came in." Fury spoke. "I wonder why she was so quiet this morning."

"Yeah, you know, you've got a point." Breta chimed in. "I mean, isn't she always a lot… bossier?"

Havoc nodded. "She usually yells at us to get to work."

Colonel Mustang stood up from behind his desk, scraping his chair back against the floor suddenly, making everyone jump.

"Why are you all still standing around?" he demanded. "Get to work!"

The subordinates all exchanged glances, dragging their feet off to do their work. There was definitely something weird going on…and they were determined to figure out.

----------------------------

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Sorry it took a while for me to update… there was a problem with my computer, and I had to bring it to my college helpdesk so they could fix it. I was really upset because when I got it back, all of my pictures and music were deleted from my computer! I was happy to find that my documents had all been saved, because for a minute I thought that this story might have been deleted too! sigh of relief

Soooo anyway, here is chapter 11… look forward to 12 coming soon!

Much love… xoxo


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Lieutenant could hear the General's secretary enter the office further down the hall, presumably to announce her arrival. She looked down to gather the papers in her arms a little straighter, and stopped in front of the large wooden doors to the large office.

Before she could knock, the doors opened and Riza found herself looking down at the General's secretary once again.

"Oh, you're here already!" she noted, mildly surprised that Riza had caught up to her so quickly. "I let the General know you were coming, and he asked for me to collect the papers from you. He figured it would be quicker this way, because he has a meeting to attend now. I was on my way back to collect them, but it seems you have saved me the trouble."

Riza shrugged. "That's fine." She said, handing over the stack of papers. "Give the General my regards."

The young woman smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir, I will do that. Have a nice day, Lieutenant."

Riza nodded and stepped away from the doors, hearing them close behind her. She sighed and shook her head. The General didn't have enough time to see her? Things were really changing around the base lately. People never had time for a normal conversation, or apparently even a three-second chance to collect paperwork. Secretaries were in abundance now, and the higher-ups often sat in their offices behind a desk, having their secretaries do the majority of their work for them.

She narrowed her eyes in thought. Hiring so many outsiders just to act as a secretary didn't seem to smart… in all reality, it almost seemed pretty careless. How could the military put so much trust in people who had no background with the military? It was beyond her comprehension.

The sun shone in through the windows in the hallway, streaming down in little beams through the dust in the air. She stopped walking and instead wandered over towards the clear glass. In the glare of the sunlight, she could see her reflection. A ghostly image of a weary soldier stared back at her; it appeared she was floating there in mid-air on the other side of the glass, above the trees and the cars, above even the mountains in the distance.

Riza sighed and rested her forehead against the glass. To be the woman who stared back at her… she could only imagine what it felt like to be that free.

"Lieutenant."

Riza gasped and lifted her head from the glass to see a second reflection had joined hers.

Colonel Mustang stood behind her, his face set in an almost unreadable expression. His onyx eyes were focused on her in the reflection, and she could feel all of the pain and sadness from the night before returning to her so sharply, it almost made her head spin.

She turned to face him, leaving behind her reflection. Seeing him there so suddenly had made her panic, searching for something to say to avoid speaking about the night before.

"Sir, I… I delivered the papers to General Hakuro's secretary. He was in a meeting and couldn't see me personally. Is there anything else you wish for me to do before heading back?"

Roy seemed mildly taken back by her sudden speech, as if he hadn't been expecting her to say exactly that.

"Uhrrm… N-no, there's nothing else I can think of," he stammered.

Riza nodded, feeling her calm exterior beginning to fall away, and knew she couldn't show the Colonel how upset she had been since the previous night.

"I'll be heading back then, sir." She spoke, lifting her arm to salute him.

He stood there, with his dark eyes staring into hers, seeming to not notice her salute.

She lowered her arm slowly, dropping her gaze from him as well. However, she took only three steps further when she heard him speak.

"About last night… I didn't make a report."

She stopped in her retreat upon hearing his statement. "I know." She said softly. "Although I deserve a punishment for my actions."

Roy turned around to face her. "Punishment?" he echoed. "Hawkeye…"

Riza shook her head, interrupting him. "I am grateful." She said, almost surprised at the regained steadiness of her voice, or how unfeeling she had suddenly become. "Thank you, sir."

Roy let out his breath, not finding the words to express his feelings. He had wanted to say so much to her about the night before… about what he had meant when he said all those things to her. Mainly, he wanted to be sure she was alright.

"If there's nothing else you wish me to do for you, sir, I will return to the office to begin some paperwork."

He nodded, letting her excuse herself. Watching her walk down the hall away from him, he sighed and folded his arms in thought. When she had entered the office that morning, he sensed something was different about her immediately. Although she had said less than a few sentences, her voice held a strange tone that he had never heard before. He had hurt her, he knew, by telling her he couldn't trust her. He could only wish things hadn't happened the way they had.

With a shake of his head, he walked down the hallway in the opposite direction, on his way to make an appearance in a meeting for a little while. Although he wasn't exactly looking forward to it, at least it would help keep his mind off of what was going on.

-------------------

The hallway, doors, and military officers all seemed to blur together out of focus as Riza made her way back towards the Colonel's office. She had been successful in speaking with the colonel in the sense that she hadn't broken down in front of him, which would have been disastrous in her book. However, she felt different- it was almost like she felt like a stranger to him suddenly. There was no longer a relaxed atmosphere between the two of them, at least not to her.

Farther down the hallway, she could hear the soft ringing of someone's office phone. She hadn't really noticed until just then, but it seemed to have been ringing for some time; probably even when she and the colonel had been talking.

_It's probably some higher-up's phone. _She mused. _He's probably in that meeting and it's going to keep ringing until someone answers the damn thing._

Her assumptions seemed accurate until she wandered closer down the hallway, finding that the ringing was growing louder. The higher ups had offices further down the hallway, either in the direction she was coming from in that end of the hall, or around where the colonel's office was in the extreme other end. The ringing was definitely coming up fast, and she was just about in the middle of the hallway.

Doors blurred as she walked faster in sheer curiosity. Who could be calling so frequently? What could they possibly have to say that was so important to keep calling someone's private phone line over and over again?

She suddenly stopped in her tracks, finding herself in front of an office; the phone was still ringing behind the door. Her eyes wandered up to the nameplate to find out who owned the office, only to find the nameplate was missing.

"Oh… my… god…" she whispered, raising her hand to her mouth in shock.

It was Rebecca's old office.

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Author's Note:

Yayyyy! I finally finished Chapter 12! Thank you all so much for understanding my internet problem… I appreciate your forgiveness! .;;

This chapter is a little bit shorter, because I pretty much got stuck in the middle of it, and I didn't know where exactly I wanted to go with it. Haha… I guess it's not so bad now though.

Once again, thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Chapter 13 is on its way!

xoxo


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Riza could feel her hands shake as she rushed forwards and grasped the handle of the door. Giving the knob a firm turn, she found the door to still be locked from the previous night.

"Damn it!" she cursed, pushing away from the door. After a quick glance to be sure that the Colonel wasn't still in the hallway, she rushed the rest of the way down the hall towards their office.

She opened the door quickly, almost slamming it into Fury in the process.

"Havoc!" she shouted, startling the young blonde soldier. "I need to speak with you in the hallway- now."

Seeing the Lieutenant's expression of urgency, instead of spouting his usual sarcastic response about being too lazy or tired to move, Havoc leapt to his feet, raising a hand to steady the cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

Once they were in the hallway, Riza looked up at him. "Listen, Havoc, I need you to get me a key to open one of the empty offices." She whispered, looking straight into his green eyes.

The young officer sighed, but nodded his head, seeming to understand the urgency. "Which one do you need?" he asked. "We can probably get one from Major Armstrong since the Colonel's in that meeting. He should have one since he's a higher-up…"

"I need to get inside Rebecca's old office."

He frowned, raising a hand to his head. "With all due respect, Lieutenant… why?"

Riza directed her gaze away from his eyes. "Havoc, I need to know I can trust you." She said. "I mean it- this is to remain between you and I only. The Colonel… the Colonel can't know."

Havoc's frown deepened, but he never faltered in his overall collected exterior. "You know I can't promise that." He said. "I made an oath just the same as you did, and I cannot keep things from the Colonel that I don't understand myself."

Riza sighed and nodded. After a moment of silence, she spoke. "I'll tell you everything." She said, "But first I need to get into that office." Seeing Havoc's hesitant expression, she quickly added, "If I go back on my word, you can tell the Colonel everything- that I am hiding something from him or whatever you want to say."

Havoc sighed. "I know that you and the Colonel have a strong bond." He said finally. "For something to go beyond that… well, it must be something serious. I'll get you a key."

Riza smiled out of sheer relief. "Thank you, Havoc." She whispered, grasping his hand. She shook it lightly, staring into his eyes. "Thank you."

-----------------------

It seemed like an eternity before Havoc stepped out from behind the closed office door. With a grim smile, he held out his hand to reveal a gold key.

"It took some convincing, but the Major finally gave in."

Riza smiled and patted his shoulder once in a silent thank-you before turning towards the direction of Rebecca's old office.

"I'll tell you all you want to know when we get there." She whispered, keeping her eyes forward.

Havoc nodded and followed close behind her as they continued down the hall.

They couldn't have reached the office soon enough. As soon as the door was in sight, Riza could feel her heart pounding faster and faster in anticipation. She slid the key into the lock and with a triumphant click, the door was soon unlocked.

She pushed the door open quickly, and motioned for Havoc to follow her inside. Once they were both in, she peered out into the hallway to be sure no one had seen them. Finally, she shut the door and locked it.

Turning around, she could see that Havoc was sitting atop the empty desk, lighting a new cigarette.

"So tell me, mystery woman," he sighed with his usual grin reappearing on his face. "I put my job on the line, so I'd like you to explain what we're doing here, since all I could tell the major was that I had been assigned to clean this office in case of a new transfer."

Riza frowned, looking around the room. She had been sure she had heard a phone ringing…

"I was investigating Rebecca's case, and I over-looked something that she had told me." She answered, placing a hand beneath her chin in thought. "She had told me she received a threatening phone call from someone, and yet when I was collecting her personal things yesterday, there was no sign of a phone- nor is there now. I'm thinking that's a little strange, to say the least."

Havoc frowned and let a stream of smoke out the side of his mouth. "That _is_ strange." He agreed. "Did she say if she had any idea who the call was from?"

Riza shook her head, as she walked over by the bookcases and peered behind them.

"No, but I think it's peculiar that the phone is missing." She said. "If she said she received a phone call, then why isn't the phone still here?"

Havoc nodded. "What do you think about that?"

Riza smiled grimly. "I think you know."

"You're thinking the military is involved in this?" His voice was significantly lower as he spoke, almost at a whisper.

"I'm thinking that better not be the case." she responded quickly. "Besides- the main reason I asked for your help was because when I was passing this office, I heard a phone ringing."

Havoc frowned. "But… there's no phone." He interceded. "That would be impossible."

Riza sighed and walked over next to him. "What time does the Colonel's meeting get out?" she asked.

Havoc shrugged. "You know those meetings can last up to over an hour… but you know the Colonel. He'll probably sneak out of there soon. He never lasts more than a half hour in those boring sessions."

Riza nodded grimly. "We'd better go then." She said reluctantly, taking one last look around the room.

Havoc nodded, and Riza turned towards the door to unlock it when a loud crunch interrupted her.

She turned around quickly to see the young officer standing next to the desk, lifting up one of his shoes to inspect what he had landed on upon jumping off the desk. Her eyes widened as she saw a thin black chord attached to the piece of what Havoc had landed on. It looked as if it continued under the desk…

"Havoc, if you wouldn't mind, would you please help me move this desk?" she asked, stepping forward and placing both hands flat on its surface for emphasis. "I think you just found the missing phone."

Havoc's eyes widened and he set down the object he was holding, grasping the side of the desk.

The two officers worked together to push the heavy metal desk backwards towards the file cabinets that stood against the wall. There, on the ground, were the remnants of a broken telephone.

Riza stooped down and picked up a piece of the phone in her hand. "It looks like it shattered." She muttered. "However, the base is still in tact, making it possible to still accept phone calls."

"You heard right, then." Havoc murmured. "I'm wondering why it was hidden under the desk though."

Riza shook her head. "I don't think we need to worry about that right now." She said, picking up the base of the telephone. "It could have been anyone who saw the mess and just kicked it out of the way beneath the desk to leave it to someone else to clean up. We need to find out why the phone was broken, if the person who called Rebecca had left her any messages, and who was calling this phone before, if we can. If we're lucky, this may bring us closer to the killer."

Havoc nodded and turned around. Standing on his toes, he reached up on top of one of the file cabinets and pulled down a dusty box. "You can put the pieces in this." He said, handing Riza the box. "I'll carry them out after you leave to make it look like I really was cleaning. We can meet up later and I'll give it to you."

Riza nodded and accepted the box, placing the pieces of the phone inside. In a few minutes, she had collected the pieces, and stood up next to Havoc.

"We should leave before we get caught." She advised, heading towards the door.

"Wait."

Riza turned around to face Havoc once more.

"I want to know one more thing." He spoke quietly. By the look in his eyes, the Lieutenant could already guess what he was going to ask her. "Why can't the Colonel know about this?"

Riza frowned and directed her gaze into his. "I was taken off the case, that's why." She spoke in complete honesty. "The Colonel thought I couldn't handle the stress- he thought it was making me act rashly. All matters aside, I made a promise to Rebecca that I would avenge her death- that I would find her killer. I intend to do that, Havoc; no matter what it takes, I will piece together this case."

The officer was silent as he stared into her eyes, as if he were searching for a reason to trust her.

"I can't lie to the Colonel." He said finally.

Riza felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, hearing Havoc's words. "You're going to tell him?" she asked. "You're going to tell him that I went against his orders?"

Strangely, a grin began to stretch across his face. "I never said I was going to tell him either." He answered, blowing out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette. "Lying to the Colonel and _forgetting_ to mention some _minor_ details is something completely different."

Riza smiled, a great feeling of relief washing over her. "Thank you, Havoc." She whispered sincerely, handing him the gold key to the office. "You're a fine officer, and a trustworthy friend."

The blonde officer blushed and grinned. "Heh heh… thanks, Lieutenant." He spoke, lifting the box that contained the phone fragments. "Just make sure you don't let your promise with Rebecca endanger the promise you made to the Colonel."

Riza turned to look at him, her hand frozen on the door knob.

"The Colonel may have taken you off the case for a greater reason than you know." He said seriously. "Make sure you take care of yourself."

Riza found the life return to her once again and turned the doorknob, opening the door. "Thanks for the concern, Havoc." She said, before stepping into the hallway. "You can find me at the end of the day to give me the box."

Havoc sighed, watching the blonde Lieutenant slip out of the office and into the hallway. He listened to her boots click against the floor, echoing out of earshot. When he was sure she was gone, he headed out of the office and into the hallway as well, closing the door and locking it behind himself.

----------------------

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that for the time being, my internet connections have been cooperating, and so I am proud to present you with chapter 13! Yay! .

It was nice to be able to finish this chapter today, because it's my birthday and it would suck if I had gotten writer's block today! lol Since I'm turning the big 19, I thought I'd post today to celebrate!

Thank you for keeping up with this story, and look forward to chapter 14- coming soon!

xoxo


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Oh MAN am I exhausted!" Breta yawned, leaning back in his chair. "Thank god it's Friday."

Fury, Fullman, and Havoc all nodded their heads in agreement with their fellow officer.

It was the end of yet another uneventful day at Central Headquarters, and all four men were ready for the weekend off.

"I love Fridays…" Fury sighed, stretching his arms above his head. "They're so nice to look forward to, but when they get here, it's even better! We've got the whole entire weekend to relax!"

"Not unless you have paperwork to do…" came an annoyed voice.

Havoc grinned and looked over at Colonel Mustang, who was currently flipping through a large stack of papers.

"Oh, come on, Colonel… why don't you forget about paperwork just for tonight? How about we all go out for some dinner in town? It'll be nice to get away from all this work!"

Fullman nodded thoughtfully. "You know, Havoc does have a point." He noted. "It's been a while since we all went out together anyway."

Roy sighed and pushed the stack of papers out of the way. "I don't know…" he sighed. "I would love to chance to meet some women, but I've got a lot to work on besides paperwork."

It was at that moment that Riza walked into the room, carrying some file folders and a small pile of invoices that needed to be stamped.

"Come on, I bet the Lieutenant will come!" Havoc declared, standing up.

At the sound of her name, Riza lifted her head and stopped in her tracks. "Pardon?" she asked, almost nervous to be part of their conversation.

"We were all talking about going out to dinner tonight to take a break from everything." Fury said with a smile. "We would like you to come along with us, Lieutenant."

"Yeah…" Havoc added, casting her a mischievous glance. "It's not like you have anything else to do."

Riza glared at him for only a second before regaining her composure. "I… I don't know…" she stammered. "I don't want to intrude on your plans. You can go out together- don't worry about inviting me."

"No, we want you to come!" Fury insisted. "Please, Lieutenant- it won't be the same without you there!"

Riza sighed, looking at the sad pleading expression of her fellow officer. Her mind was focused on Rebecca's case… on figuring out the telephone call and hopefully finding a breakthrough on who could have killed Rebecca.

"Alright." She finally conceded, turning her back on everyone to set her things down on her desk. "I… I guess I'll come along then."

"All right, then it's settled!" Breta announced cheerfully. "That means you're coming too, Colonel. No excuses!"

Roy sighed and shrugged. "All right, fine- I know I won't be able to get you all to shut up about it unless I go anyway."

Riza looked up at her fellow officers, watching them gathering their things to leave for the weekend.

"What time should we all meet?" Fullman asked. "Fury and I both live in the dormitories, and Breta lives not too far away, so it wouldn't be a problem for the three of us to meet up."

Havoc nodded. "Okay then, since I live pretty close to the Colonel… and none of us really knows where the Lieutenant lives besides the Colonel, I guess the three of us will go together then!" he said with a grin directed towards Riza, knowing how she hated to tell people where she lived. "How about we meet up together at the Paper Lantern at… seven?"

Everyone agreed, putting on their jackets and gathering their paperwork and various things they needed to work on over the weekend.

"Hey, Lieutenant, do you mind giving me a ride home?" Havoc asked, walking over towards Riza's desk.

She looked up at the blonde officer, catching his wink.

"Sure." She said calmly, going along with his act. "Let me get my things and I'll drive you home."

He nodded, and turned around to the Colonel just as he was walking out the door. "Hey, Colonel- I'll be by your house around 6:30… is that alright?"

Roy nodded. "Sounds fine to me." He said. At that, he glanced over at Riza, attempting to pick up on how she was feeling. All day, he had gotten a strange vibe from her; he was sure she had seemed normal to everyone else who saw her, but to him, she seemed to be acting… somewhat differently.

Riza looked up to meet his eyes for only a moment, quickly looking down once again to grab her folders and paperwork.

"See you later." Havoc waved, watching the Colonel finally leave the room. As soon as his commanding officer was out of sight and down the hall, he sighed. "Oh man, that guy is really hard to keep secrets from. He's so… intense!"

Riza shrugged and stood up from her desk to grab her coat of the coat rack. "I don't like to say I'm trying to keep a secret from him." She murmured. "It makes me feel even worse."

Havoc smiled knowingly, and opened the door for her. "Hey, don't worry. Things will all work out soon." He said, trying his best to cheer her up. "It'll be good for you to come out with us tonight too. Maybe things between you and the Colonel will be better once we're all away from the formalities around here."

Riza could only smile weakly, watching Havoc close the office door behind them and lock it.

"I've got the box hidden in the storage room." He said quietly, walking next to her down the hallway. "I'll go get it while you get in your car. I'll be right back."

Riza nodded, watching him walk down the hall ahead of her and turned the corner, going in the direction of the storage room. She headed the opposite direction at the end of the hallway and proceeded down the stairs and out of the building.

As soon as she got into her car, she spotted Havoc coming out of the side of the building from a different exit, carrying the dusty brown box in his arms. When he got to her car, he opened the back door and slid it onto the seat before getting in the front with her.

"Okay then, let's get going." He said, thankful that they had succeeded in their "mission."

Riza nodded and started the car, pulling out of the parking lot. She could hardly wait to get home to begin further inspection on the phone. Finally, things were starting to look up.

-------------------

"Ugh, this doesn't make any sense!"

Riza was sitting on the floor in her living room, surrounded by pieces of the broken phone. For an hour since she had gotten home, she had been trying to figure out how she could get the phone to turn on.

She had found the chord that had plugged into the wall, and she had hooked up the phone to her own phone line, hoping that it would work. However, her efforts ended up in vain as she stared down at the lifeless battered telephone.

"How did you work before?" she wondered out loud, picking up a piece of the earpiece. "I don't understand… I know I heard you ringing."

Black Hayate wandered over towards her and licked her arm, trying to get her attention.

"I know you want be to play with you, but I can't right now." She said with a smile, patting the dog on the head. "I'm sorry boy… I've been acting strange lately, and I know you can sense it. As soon as this case is all figured out, I promise things will be better."

The young dog sighed and laid down on the floor next to her, letting his eyes drift closed.

Riza turned back to the telephone on the ground, and sighed in frustration. Her eyes drifted over to the clock that hung on the wall, displaying the time to be 5:14.

"I guess I'll go take a shower and get ready for later." She murmured to herself. "Maybe if I take my mind off this thing for a while, I'll be able to concentrate on it later."

She gathered up the pieces of the phone and put them back in the box. She reached for the base of the phone to unplug it but stopped just before she pulled the plug. A moment later, she dropped her hands and rose from the floor, picking up the box.

"Maybe if I leave it plugged in, I'll get lucky and it'll start working again and at least turn on or something." She mused.

She shrugged and placed the box on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and walked down the hallway towards her bedroom and the bathroom. She had a lot on her mind to think about… hopefully a shower could cleanse her thoughts for even a little while.

-------------------

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I want to thank those of you who sent me birthday wishes… it was very nice of you! As always, I also wanted to thank you all for keeping up with my story!

I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter... I've been developing an idea for this story, and this chapter is sort of the start of my idea, and I guess I'm just a little unsure about it right now. Oh well, hopefully it'll all work out and I'll be able to update quickly!

Chapter 15 is going to be a good chapter- it'll be fun to write, and I know exactly what I want to happen, so at least I won't get writer's block! (I hope… lol)

Oh well, we'll see what happens! Thanks again for reading!

xoxo

(P.S. If any of you guys are interested in anime conventions and cosplaying, you should check out my new website… I made it not to long ago in college! I'm working on it right now to update everything and give it a little make-over, so don't mind the construction!

for stopping by!)


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The sun was just beginning to dip behind the horizon as Riza stepped out of her bathroom. She sighed and walked across the room on her soft plush carpet, watching the orange rays of sunlight run across her body as she moved.

She glanced quickly at the clock on the table by her bed. It was 5:54, nearly 6:00 already. She shook her head lightly and turned around towards her closet. She had been in the shower for nearly a half hour, which was certainly not like her. Usually her showers were quick; she never really had the time or the reason to spend relaxing.

Walking over to her closet, she pulled the door open to take a look at what she had to wear. It had been a while since she had worn something casual; it had been a really long time, in fact. Outside of a normal outfit here and there on the weekends to go shopping or run errands, she was usually in uniform.

She smiled, reaching into the closet. Maybe dinner tonight was a good idea after all. Havoc had a good point in reasoning that perhaps her ties with the Colonel would return to normal after they could be together outside of the stress of the military base.

As much as she hated to admit it, forcing herself to take her mind off of Rebecca's case would probably wind up doing herself more good than she thought. It would give her a chance to clear her head, which would allow her to be able to think clearly for the first time in about a week. Hopefully with that accomplished, she could get back to the case first thing in the morning with a new outlook on everything.

She extracted a light pink skirt and a pretty white top from her closet and walked over to her bed to make up her mind on the outfit she had selected.

The skirt was a pretty rosy pink color, and she held it up to her body, making sure it wasn't too short. It fell about an inch or two above her knee, and she sighed. It would have to be good enough.

The shirt was just about perfect, she decided, running her hands over its smooth fabric. The bottom was embroidered in a light lace, and the neckline of the shirt was cut so that it curved down low enough to make it dressy but still modest.

She got dressed quickly, feeling strange in wearing such different fabric than the one she was used to wearing when she was in uniform. She pulled on a pair of nylon stockings which at first seemed awfully hard to do in the absence of her wearing such a garment. Managing to pull her clothes together, she flattened her skirt and stood in front of her mirror, looking at her reflection.

"Well now, that looks ridiculous." She sighed, lifting her hands to the green towel that was wrapped around her wet hair atop her head.

She pulled the towel from her head after rubbing her hair to get the remaining water off and tossed it on her bed. She picked up a comb from her dresser that stood before her mirror and ran it through her sleek hair to straighten it somewhat as it continued to dry.

Reaching for her lipstick, she applied the light neutral pink makeup to her lips to add a bit of color. She even reached for the new compact of blush that she had never used and opened it, dabbing it on her cheeks lightly to perfect her nearly flawless complexion.

She hadn't the faintest idea why she was going to far to make herself look nice- she was only going out to dinner with her fellow officers. It wasn't like she was trying to impress someone… right?

With a sigh, she ducked once more into her closet and pulled out a shoebox. Placing it on her bed, she lifted the lid to see a brand new pair of light pink flats. She lifted the shoes out of the box and held them to her skirt, mildly surprised at how well they matched her outfit.

A quick glance at the clock showed her it was 6:15.

"Havoc said he was picking the Colonel up at 6:30, so they'll probably get here around 6:45 or so." She murmured out loud.

Walking over towards her dresser and mirror once more, she ran her hands through her hair to make sure it was dry enough, and then applied a hair crème to be sure it styled well.

For the final touch, she sprayed a light perfume mist through the air and stepped into it, enjoying the flowery scent of which she had long forgotten the smell of.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she could begin to feel her mind rewind, wandering back to the shadows of her memories. Her perfume whispered of her youthful nights spent walking through the city streets beneath the moonlight… the face of an old friend reappeared in her mind in the shade of pink that rested on her soft lips. As the cool wind blew in through the open window, she found herself for just a moment standing beside a shallow river; a thousand silver fish swam past in the current.

Riza blinked, snapping out of her momentary stupor. She stepped back from her mirror. Moments like this were rare, she knew, but when she had the chance to think back to her past, it surprised her which small details managed to slip through her mind.

She peered down at the ground and stepped into her new shoes, glad that they didn't really have heels. The last thing she needed to do was to kill herself when attempting to dress up.

As she reached down to transfer her money from her uniform pants pocket to the small handbag she carry that night, her eyes came to rest on a manila folder that rested at the edge of her bed, poking out of her comforter. She nearly smacked herself in the head for being so forgetful when she finally realized what it was.

"How could I forget I had this?" she whispered, picking up the folder. It was the folder that she had braved sneaking into the military base to get, and she had gotten so caught up with stress she had thrown it on her bed that past night, unable to look through it.

She glanced out the window and then at the clock, seeing it was only 6:31. She would have a little bit of time to look through it now, before Havoc arrived with the Colonel to pick her up.

Walking into her living room, she settled onto the couch and opened the folder, prepared to skim through the papers.

_Rebecca said that someone had left her a note on her desk referring to a telephone call, _she thought to herself, getting back on track with the case. _Hopefully that note is still in here…_

She combed through a few papers, ones of which the investigator had written down reports from the crime scene from the Sunday when she and the Colonel had been attacked at the headquarters.

She frowned. In all of the stress, she had almost completely forgotten about that… how the strange person had showed up at the base and made a move at the Colonel.

Riza shook her head, and moved through more papers. Rebecca had documented the evidence at the crime scene as well; the items left behind were clearly outlined, as well as a prognosis for each one.

A separate sheet contained her report of the incident, describing her theories of attack motives and possible profiles.

She was about to move on to the next paper when a flash of yellow caught her eye. Stuck to the back of the paper she was reading was a small yellow paper, covered in ink which acted as the adhesive to attach it against the other paper.

She frowned and pulled it lightly, not wanting to rip it before she could fully inspect it. With a slight tearing sound, she managed to extract the paper and turned it over in her palm, surprised to find legible words written on the other side. The ink had managed to block out a few of the end letters, but Riza was still able to make out mostly what it said.

"Something… something… is full of choices to make, will you answer… something the…" suddenly her eyes widened as she read the rest of the sentence out loud. "…the call of fate! This is it! This must be the note Rebecca was talking about!"

She narrowed her eyes, attempting to make sense of the few words she wasn't able to read, but finding no answer she set the paper down back in the folder.

She glanced over at the broken phone which still sat near the table by her couch, plugged into the wall.

"This just proves that someone meant for her to receive those phone calls." She muttered. "But why did they go after her? Was it because she was involved so closely in the inspection of that other case?"

She frowned. Could that mean that the two cases were connected then?

A loud knock at her front door nearly gave her a heart attack, and Riza had to raise a hand to her chest to attempt to regain her breath.

"Coming…" she called out, slightly angry.

Reaching for her handbag that she had left on the couch with the manila folder, she dodged Black Hayate who was currently running in circles excitedly, and unlocked the door.

Havoc's eyes widened as he saw her standing in the doorway.

"Wow, Lieutenant, you look really nice." He complimented, looking her over… a bit too well.

"I appreciate it, Havoc, but if you don't look me in the face when you speak to me, I'm afraid I might have to damage your eyesight."

The blonde officer laughed. "I know, I know!" he sighed, "Come on, let's get to the restaurant and get some good seats."

Riza smiled and nodded, pulling the door closed behind her. As she walked down the short path towards the car, her mind was still stuck on Rebecca's case. She almost wished she could stay at home and continue to figure things out now.

"You look quite lovely, Lieutenant Hawkeye."

She had almost forgotten that the Colonel would be waiting with the car outside. She felt a nervous feeling begin to tug at her when she looked up to see Roy leaning up against the front door of the car.

"Thank you, sir… you look nice too." She spoke almost shyly, as she opened the back door and slid into the seat of the car.

_Of course, that was an understatement_. She thought to herself, watching the Colonel in the little time it took for him to turn around and get into the car as well.

He looked incredibly handsome- that was for sure. The soft white button down shirt he was wearing fit him perfectly; it was casual but fit his personality the way it was unbuttoned almost dangerously low, and Riza had to force herself to look away from the way he had tucked it half in and half out of the front of his black pants.

His cologne wafted towards her as he settled in the seat next to her and shut the door. She had never been a fan of men's cologne; she mostly thought they were too strong and made a man seem overzealous… but his was different. It made her think of the way he smiled, of the warmth in his voice, and his cocky but irresistible personality that had never failed to win him the hearts of almost any woman who crossed his path.

Riza's thoughts were interrupted as Havoc got into the car and closed the door behind himself, starting the motor.

"Okay, now let's get to that restaurant before I die of starvation!" he announced dramatically, pulling away from the curb. "Oh mannn, I can't wait to get some lobster! Or… or maybe I'll get some of those really good little strips of steak that you can dip in those really good sauces…"

"Maybe you should focus on the road!" Roy called out, watching as Havoc barely missed side swiping a parked car in his drooling over what he was going to order to eat. "Maybe it would have been safer for one of us to drive… especially since this is MY CAR."

Havoc grinned. "Sorry Colonel, but your car is way nicer than mine, and you know that rule where the subordinate officer should be the one to drive…"

Roy rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever you say." He commented dryly. "But if you so much as scratch this car…" he ended his threat by lifting a pyrotechnic glove out of his pants pocket.

Havoc's eyes widened and he gripped the wheel, snapping his attention back to the road.

Before long, Havoc had safely parked the car, and they stepped out onto the street.

"See? My driving wasn't that bad." Havoc sighed, patting Roy's shoulder.

"Yeah, because I had to threaten your life." He joked back with a grin.

Riza smiled, listening to the officers joking around with each other. She almost hadn't noticed the car pulling up behind theirs until a familiar voice cried out to them.

"Hey guys! Wait for us!"

The three officers turned around to see Fury, Fullman, and Breta waving to them as they got out of the car.

Havoc laughed and grabbed Riza's arm. "No way!" he cried childishly, running down the sidewalk.

Riza gasped, surprised at his actions, and stumbled to keep up.

"Hey!" Roy cried, following close behind.

Breta, Fury, and Fullman all grinned and raced after their fellow officers, glad to have a chance for light-hearted fun.

"Last one to the place gets to pay the tip!" Havoc cried out, letting Riza's arm go so she could run on her own.

She looked behind her to see a slightly agitated Colonel Mustang running after them, followed by Fullman, then Fury and Breta neck and neck.

She caught his gaze for just a moment, and was surprised to see him grin. He suddenly lengthened his stride and sped up his pace, evening with her speed.

Something inside of her seemed to take over, for Riza suddenly felt herself speed up as well. She smiled and pushed forward ahead of him again, looking back to see him laugh.

In a few seconds, they were both past Havoc, racing down the sidewalk; they must have looked like a bunch of kids chasing after the ice cream vendor in the summertime.

"HEY!" Havoc cried as they both whipped past him effortlessly. "That's no fair! You guys are way too fast!"

Up ahead, Riza could see the restaurant. She was tired, but a part of her didn't want to stop running. She liked the feeling of her hair flowing behind her unrestrained; she liked how it felt to run beneath the streetlights that whizzed overhead in bright flashes of light… but most of all, she liked the fact that they Colonel was nearly beside her as they raced. It was almost as if for a moment in time, they had managed to run away from their problems and their responsibilities.

They both reached the restaurant at the same time, nearly collapsing to the ground from running so hard.

"I… I haven't done that in ages." The Colonel laughed between gasping breaths.

Riza smiled and nodded her agreement from her place beside him.

Roy straightened up and looked down at her suddenly; his expression had turned soft, as if he had suddenly thought of something to say to her.

"Oh MAN you guys are ridiculous! I wouldn't have suggested a race if I knew you'd beat me!"

The two officers turned around to see Havoc reach them, followed closely by Fullman, and Fury.

"Where's Breta?" Riza asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh brother." Roy sighed in frustration, pointing down the sidewalk. "There he is- all the way back there."

Everyone looked to see poor Breta stumbling after them at a staggering jog. He reached them in a few minutes, looking like he was about to keel over and die. "I… hate… running… goddammit…." He gasped, falling over on the ground.

Fury laughed. "Well at least I won't be stuck paying tip this time!" he said with a relieved smile. "Sorry Breta, but now you know how it feels to get suckered into paying!"

The poor officer could only twitch in response.

"Well, I suppose now would be a great time to get some food." Havoc declared, marching towards the entrance to the restaurant.

The friends of his fellow officers followed suit, and they were soon seated at a large iron table outside beneath tiny glowing paper lanterns that hung above them.

Riza felt the wind blow her hair gently and she looked at the candle's flame flicker on the table in front of her. The warm glow from the overhead lanterns created a comfortable atmosphere amongst the bustle of the city. A pianist played a light but beautiful piece at the other end of the restaurant; the soft melody drifted through the air around them like a lullaby.

The waitress made her way to their table, blushing as Havoc made his ritual advances on her. The rest of the men at the table joined in the fun, all of them except for the Colonel, strangely.

Riza noticed that the whole time she had been there, flirting with the other officers, Roy hadn't even glanced at her; he only spoke to her when he asked for another wine or to thank her for removing his plate at the end of their meal. He had instead spoken to Riza, casually discussing random things that could encourage a light conversation.

It was certainly strange of him to not even make a pass at the pretty waitress, but Riza found herself feeling somewhat glad he hadn't attempted to flirt with yet another woman.

Under the lights they all sat, talking, laughing, and relaxing- and for the first time in a long time, they weren't just fellow officers working under the same commanding Colonel; they were friends of an equal rank having a good time in each other's company.

----------------

Author's Note:

Wow… this was a really fun chapter to write! I finally found a pair of headphones that I have been hunting around my house to find, and I actually got to listen to my music when I was writing this chapter. Cowboy Bebop music is just amazing, in my opinion.

Yeah, this definitely makes up for the last chapter that I didn't really like so much. I'm glad to say that I also can guarantee Chapter 16 will be good and as easy for me to write as well… because I've got some really good ideas now.

A lot of times I'll get an idea to write a story, and I'll know how I want to start it, and how to finish it… but nothing about what happens in between! That isn't exactly the best thing to have happen! --Lol-- At least in this case, I finally am getting past the hardest part of the story and moving on to the part I've really been looking forward to writing!

Don't get me wrong, I did love killing off my roommate's character, and writing about Riza's efforts to solve the case with or without the Colonel's approval… but this next part of the story will be a lot more fun to write for me. Hehehe

Sorry about writing this really long note… it's exactly 2:45 AM at this very second, and I am in an insane writing mood. I've got great music playing, and I want to keep writing. Haha!

Well I'm going to force myself to go to bed now before I die on top of my laptop.

Thanks for keeping up with everything… Chapter 16 is on its way:)

xoxo

(P.S. Last time my cosplay website address didn't show up, so I'll try to write it again, haha! Oh, and by the way- I am currently working on an FMA website, so you can look forward to that being done soon! Here's my cosplay site in the meantime: 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Ohhh man how lucky am I!" Havoc sighed, leaning back against the seat of the Colonel's car. "I'm so happy right now… I wouldn't be able to drive even if you had let me."

Roy sighed and glanced at him quickly in the rearview mirror before returning his eyes to the road. "You're a head case." He grumbled. "Didn't you say you had found a really nice girl already?"

Havoc shrugged. "Yeah, but before I know it, you'll pop into the picture and steal her away from me, so it doesn't hurt to have a back-up. Besides- that waitress was really cute. She was totally into me too."

"What makes you so sure I won't just take both of them?"

The blonde haired soldier sat up straight. "You… you can't!" he cried. "By all that is sacred and holy, if you steal her away, I'll… I'll…"

He was suddenly interrupted by Roy once again pulling one of his pyrotechnic gloves from his pants pocket. With a defeated groan, he slumped down in the back seat, moping for the rest of the ride to Riza's house.

When her home finally came into view, she sighed to herself. It was time to get back to the matter at hand of solving the case.

"Thank you for the night out." She spoke as the car came to a stop at the curb. "I'll see you both at the base on Monday."

With a grin, Havoc waved. "See ya, Lieutenant."

"Yes, and have a nice night."

She turned to look at Roy. He was looking up at her from the front seat with the same unreadable expression she had seen on his face for nearly the whole day.

"Thank you, sir. You too."

She turned from the car and headed up the path to her house. _I wonder why he looks at me like that._ She wondered to herself, hearing the car pull away from the curb and down the street. _Does he know that… does he know that I'm continuing on with the case?_

Riza suddenly stopped in her tracks, realizing that her hands were empty. "My purse!" she sighed. "I must have left it in the car. I guess I'm just not used to carrying those damn things around."

When she stepped up onto her porch, she glanced around to be sure no one was watching, and reached up and behind the small light by her front door, extracting her spare key that she kept hidden there.

The house was cool and dark as she opened the door. She frowned, hearing no sound of her young dog who was usually at the door before she had even made it up the front steps.

"That pup must have gotten into something again." She sighed, stepping out of her shoes and leaving them by her front door. "It better not be the bathroom garbage can again."

A rustle came from down the hallway in the direction of her room, just as she predicted.

"Hayate, come!" she ordered strictly, inwardly smiling at how well trained her dog was, despite his recent interest in raiding the garbage cans.

The silence that answered her proved to be unnerving. Riza frowned. It was not like Hayate to ignore her command- not when she spoke to him in that tone of voice; he had been trained too well.

She narrowed her eyes and removed her jacket, letting it drop to the floor and she began to walk down the hallway at a brisk walk.

Reaching her bedroom, she turned the corner, fully prepared to see her dog. She hadn't expected to be staring into crystal blue eyes.

She cried out in shock, and stumbled backwards into the wall. The young man that stood before her seemed just as surprised as she was, and dashed out of her bedroom. He slid to a stop in the living room, grabbing the edge of the couch for balance.

Riza struggled to stand, feeling her body shake not only from the unexpected terror, but from the realization of who was now standing only a few feet away.

"W-what are you doing here?" she demanded, pulling herself to her feet. "Answer me, Jason!"

The young man winced, looking up at her with the same pained expression that she had seen in his face the previous week, when he had gone to Central to urge her to come home.

"You… you weren't supposed to see me!" he stammered in a mild panic. "You weren't supposed to… now he'll think you know!"

"Wait!" Riza cried, surging forward, attempting to stop him from leaving. "Jason, what are you talking about! Who will think I know what!"

Her brother clenched his fists. "Don't come any closer!" he cried nervously.

Riza stopped moving forward, but kept her eyes glued to his the entire time. "Jason, please tell me what's going on! Why did you come here like this?"

"I'm sorry Riza… this- this is all my fault!" he cried, choking back tears that were starting to fall from his eyes. "Please… please don't hate me!"

Jason suddenly whirled around and made a dash for the front door. He whipped the door open, and rushed out onto the front porch.

Riza was on her way after him when she heard him cry out in surprise.

Colonel Mustang was standing on the first step of the front porch, seeming just as surprised to see the young man come rushing out of Riza's house. In his hand was Riza's small handbag- the one she had left in his car.

"It's… you!" Jason murmured, taking a step backwards. "What… what are you doing here!"

Roy narrowed his eyes, recognizing the young man's voice from nearly a week ago when he had overheard the conversation in his office between Jason and Riza. "I' m afraid I have to ask the same thing of you." He spoke, sliding a hand into his pocket as a precaution.

Riza had made it to the front door in time, and rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her brother to hold him in place.

"Come inside Jason." She spoke, tightening her grip on him as she felt him tense up in surprise. "We can all talk about this together. Whatever is going on… it doesn't matter to me! I could never hate you!"

Her brother clenched his fists and struggled against her, making an attempt to rush forward at the Colonel.

Riza had expected him to make a move for the Colonel, and managed to slide her arms in a different position, drawing one arm across the front of his neck and lowered the other one to his left arm, twisting it upwards at an awkward angle.

Jason gasped, finding himself unable to struggle efficiently without strangling himself in her well-trained hold on him. Instead, the young man did the next best thing- he forced himself towards the ground- managing to pull Riza with him. She kept her grip on him as she had been trained to do, but winced, feeling the strain on her arms starting to become painful, once again reminding her of her injuries inflicted only about a week earlier.

As she held him in place, a flash of white caught her eye protruding from beneath his shirt collar. From the angle she held him in place, his shirt had been pulled off to the side, exposing only a small portion of what appeared to be a white bandage that was wrapped around his right shoulder.

She frowned, and was about to comment on his injury when she suddenly remembered seeing someone with a similar-looking wound on their right shoulder as well. Now… who had it been?

Roy stepped forward to assist his Lieutenant in restraining her brother when his eyes widened. Something was in Jason's free hand- something white- and he was using it to furiously scribble a circular design on the floor of the porch.

"Hawkeye get back!" he cried, rushing forward towards Jason. "He's drawing a transmutation circle!"

Riza gasped, and pulled back on her brother, trying to pull him off the ground and away from his circle.

"I'm sorry Riza!" he cried, resting his hands in place at the circle. "Please forgive me!"

In the blink of an eye, the transmutation circle started to glow a bright blue. From around it sprayed a thick white fog that completely surrounded the three of them in seconds.

Riza gasped, finding it impossible to breathe. She stumbled backwards away from her brother, letting go of him in an attempt to find her breath. Her hands searched for her doorway unsuccessfully, resulting in her falling backwards into her house.

She drew in deep breaths, lifting a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart.

"Hawkeye… Hawkeye are you alright!"

The Colonel was suddenly beside her; she could feel his hands grasp her arms lightly as he helped her sit up.

She narrowed her eyes, seeing that the front porch was empty; there was no sign of Jason. All that was left was the smeared transmutation circle that lay etched onto the concrete porch, as well as the smog that was dissipating into the night sky.

"I… I can't believe it." She whispered, shaking her head lightly. "Jason… he… he wasn't making any sense, and yet… and yet there's a part of me that understood what he had been saying all along."

Roy put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, when suddenly her head shot up quickly and she gasped. The whole time, Jason's injury had been silently reminding her of something important… something she couldn't put a finger on. It was then, however, that the answer came flooding back to her.

"Oh God…" she whispered, raising a hand to her mouth in shock. "Jason had an injury on his right shoulder in the same place I had shot that intruder last Sunday!"

Roy's eyes widened, catching on. "Are you saying he's…"

Riza turned away from him, staring at the faded transmutation circle that sat on her front porch. The reality of the situation seemed to sap her remaining energy, and she rested her head in her hands

"Jason was the one who broke in to the base and attacked us."

-------------------------

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay… I was debating between doing a few different things with my story, and I wanted to make sure I liked the idea before I posted it!

I was looking through some FMA manga on the internet, and I am about to EXPLODE at the stuff that is going on in the manga series! Ahhh! There are so many awesome and amazing things that they left out of the series… I can't wait for more of the manga to be translated. Since the series is still going in Japan, I guess we'll just have to wait month-by-month!

Just to warn you- the next chapter is going to contain some light spoilers from the manga, so for those of you who haven't read it yet, be warned. I apologize for this, but it's only a mere fraction of the new manga material, so if you don't mind a "sneak peak" so to speak, then you can look forward to Chapter 17 which will be coming around shortly!

I just published my royai website not too long ago, and I know that this site has some kind of block to prevent people from advertising their sites on here, but if you want to know what it is, I have to spell it out. Haha… I know it'll look weird, but it's the only thing I can do!

It's geocities dot com slash phoenixeverlast- that's it! Lol

Thanks for reading and all the wonderful comments! xoxo


	17. Chapter 17

**MANGA SPOILER-- There is a reference to the manga in the following chapter that some of you may not have known about. Read on at your own risk.**

Chapter 17

Roy sat there next to his Lieutenant in shock; her words played back to him through his mind.

"He… but… why would he…" he stammered, attempting to make sense of the situation.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from down the hallway, catching their attention.

"Hayate!" Riza cried, remembering her young dog. She jumped to her feet and raced down the hallway, her heart pounding. _Please don't let him be hurt… _she whispered to herself desperately.

Rounding the corner into her bedroom, her heart nearly stopped as she caught sight of a little white-tipped black tail coming from the bathroom, sitting still and lifeless on the floor.

"Hayate?" she called out weakly.

To her relief, at the sound of her voice, the tail seemed to come to life, wagging furiously. To accompany the tail, an excited whimper followed.

Riza could feel herself praising every god in existence as she hurried into the bathroom. To her relief, he seemed fine- in fact, he was very fine. With half of his body beneath an upside-down garbage can, the small dog was wriggling around excitedly upon hearing his mistress's voice.

With a sigh, she pulled the garbage can off of her dog and he whirled around and leapt into her arms, wagging his tail a mile a minute. She laughed and buried her face into his soft fur as he wriggled around to lick her face affectionately.

Roy had reached the doorway to her bedroom and smiled, seeing the dog was alright. It was cute to see his Lieutenant on the floor with the puppy in her arms.

With a happy bark, Black Hayate recognized Roy's presence and raced over towards him jumping up on his legs to be pet.

Riza watched the Colonel pat her dog affectionately, and she sighed, raising a hand to her forehead in an attempt to make the room stop spinning around her. Things had gotten out of hand so fast… she was beginning to feel so dizzy just by the thought of her brother being the one who had tried to harm the Colonel.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Roy looked up at her in surprise as Black Hayate seemed to also understand the sadness in his mistress's voice, and stopped jumping around, cocking his head to the side curiously.

"I'm so sorry… about Jason." She repeated. "I'm sorry that he had to attack you to try and convince me to go home."

Roy sighed sympathetically and made his way over towards her bed, sitting down on the end of it as Black Hayate followed and leapt up next to him.

"You don't need to apologize."

Riza shook her head, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. "If he… if he had hurt you, I would have never have forgiven myself."

Roy looked down at his Lieutenant who was still seated on the floor. It was hard to believe that she had been smiling and so happy only a few moments ago, for her expression had turned so sad.

"Well that's something you shouldn't worry about." He spoke. "I entrusted you to watch my back, didn't I? If I didn't have the confidence in you, I wouldn't have. You know that."

She sighed and looked at the carpet, running her fingertips over its smooth texture. "You may trust me, but… I really don't deserve it." She whispered sadly. "I… I know that you told me- you ordered me- off Rebecca's case, but I didn't listen to you. I kept digging deeper, trying to figure things out, while I was only really disobeying you. I don't deserve your sympathy, nor do I deserve your forgiveness… I only wanted to avenge Rebecca's death- to try to make it up to her because I wasn't able to protect her like I promised, but in the end, all I have accomplished was hurting the promise I made to you."

Roy was silent, taken back by her extreme honesty. With sigh, he shook his head. "I guess deep down inside, I already knew that you were still involved with the case. It wasn't too hard to figure out, because I realized that I knew you too well to think that you would abandon responsibility." He looked up at her, seeing her surprised expression. "I wish you had only come to me when I had spoken with you earlier this morning in the hallway. If you had been so honest with me then there might have been something I could have done to help you somehow."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and continued. "The real reason I took you off the case, Lieutenant, was because I was worried about you. You were hurt, put in great danger, and then when I saw how deeply upset you were after Private Quinn's funeral, I recognized it to be the same pain that I feel to this day when I think about Hughes." He narrowed his eyes and looked down in his lap. "I wanted to protect you from that because I know how it feels… I know how it feels to blame yourself for someone else's death, and to wonder what it would have been like if you could have saved them."

Riza looked up at her commanding officer in shock. The whole time, she had stupidly thought that the Colonel would be angry with her for disobeying his orders, and she was so afraid he would not be able to trust her. She could see the fire that burned in is eyes- the same fire that erupted from his gloved hands in battle, and it was also the same fire that had managed to always warm her, even through the toughest of times. This time, the fire seemed to glow with concern- concern for her own well-being. This whole time, the Colonel had been trying to protect her- and she had only been making things more difficult for him.

"I… I'm so sorry." she whispered, rising to her feet slowly. She wandered over towards her window and moved the curtains aside slightly, staring out into the night. "I had told Jason I didn't want to abandon you and leave, but that seems to be just what I wound up doing in the end- I abandoned you by not being honest with you. I guess… I guess I really have become the person my father was after all."

Roy's eyes widened, hearing her words.

"I know you adored him… he was an excellent teacher, and he always had a kind smile." She spoke softly, "He was able to become a father-figure for so many of his students- everyone except Jason and me. The little memories I could remember of him being at home with my mother are so distant, I can't even recall my age at the time. All I remember was that he used to always be locked away in his office, always working, always researching. It wasn't long before he left the house completely, saying that it was his duty to use his great knowledge of alchemy and pass it on to others who were willing to learn. He asked me to come along with him; he wanted me to become his first student. I remember growing up surrounded by numbers, chemical compounds, and books… it all came so easily to me somehow, but I always thought of it to seem so cold, so unnatural. Although I knew it was my father's dream for me, I never wanted to become an alchemist."

Riza sighed and pulled the curtains back across the window and wandered over towards her bed, sitting with her back to Roy on the opposite end.

"I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear how happy he was when he had found a favorite student. He would speak of him so highly and so often, always telling me how smart and ideal he was- how he would become the perfect alchemist. He was so sure that this student would be the one he would dedicate all his teachings to- he wanted so desperately to share with him the secrets of his most advanced research. He wanted to teach him how to become an alchemist of fire."

Roy smiled sadly, hearing Riza's words. He now understood of what she spoke; his memories of the past began to come back to him as well.

"Your father was a good man." He said, looking up at her to see that she still did not turn around to face him. "He always spoke of you so fondly; he was always so proud that you understood his teachings and his research."

He reached his hand into his pocket, pulling out one of his pyrotechnic gloves.

"The night that he died, your father begged me to take care of you. He kept saying how sorry he was… he kept muttering your name. He told me that if I was to ever learn the secrets of his flame alchemy, that you would be the one to teach me." He sighed, tracing the alchemic emblem on his glove with his forefinger. "It was hard to believe that such a young and innocent woman could possess such secrets that even I couldn't understand, but when you came to me the day of his funeral and you told me so determinedly that you would teach me what your father could not, I suddenly understood why he had chosen you to entrust his research with."

Riza lifted her head in surprise when she felt him rest a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she could see the Colonel was standing over her with a sad expression on his face.

"I know it may seem confusing and it hurts to know that your brother committed such a serious offence, but you need to view this as just another test of fate… of some higher power. You need to stay strong, and know that things can only get better from here."

He moved in front of her and removed his hand from her shoulder, instead extending it towards her. "I have my entire life to thank you for- my entire career as a state alchemist. You granted me so much power, and yet you still found it in your heart to find me during the war and you kept me safe. Even after the Ishball rebellion had ended, you stayed by my side and became such a loyal subordinate. We've been through a hell of a lot, Lieutenant, and I intend to keep you with me through the rest of the hell we'll have to face. I told you this once, and I'll tell you again- you're not alone in this, Riza Hawkeye- not by a long shot. I'll be by your side, even after this whole thing has ended, if you let me."

Riza looked up at her commanding officer, to see him smiling down at her with determination. Somehow, he had managed to forgive her, and there he was, standing before her wanting her to come back to him after all she had said and done. He was giving her another chance.

She could feel a fire of her own leap alive in her heart and she grasped his hand, feeling his fingers close around hers. He pulled her up from the bed until she was standing in front of him, only a few inches apart.

Riza could feel her cheeks redden and gasped as the Colonel suddenly leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. She swore it must have been the end of the world at that moment, and yet, when he pulled away from her, she was still very much alive.

Roy grinned and let her hand go from his, watching it fall to her side. Taking a step back from her he sighed and ran his hand through his hair as if nothing had happened.

"I believe we've got some work to do, Lieutenant." He spoke. "Care to get started?"

Riza stepped forward as well, raising a hand to her forehead in a salute to the man that she had vowed to always protect.

"Yes, sir!"

-------------------

Author's Note:

Sorry about the delay… once again I was stuck on a chapter with too many ideas! Also, I am attending the Anime Next convention next weekend, and I have been working endlessly on my three cosplay costumes, so I am just about ready to keel over and die. Lol

If you're going, look for me! I'm being Riza Hawkeye, Fuu (from Samurai Champloo), and another costume that I can't mention here because I am keeping it a secret for one of my friends! hehe

I hope you liked this chapter… there was just a touch of royai fluff in it at the end- I thought it was really sweet! Like I said in the last chapter's note, this chapter contains stuff that is mentioned in the manga for those of you who didn't know. I'm really sorry if it ruined it for you… a lot of people said to go ahead and write it anyway, so I figured it would be okay. Don't worry, though- the manga is still going on in Japan, so there are so many spoilers and stuff that we don't even know about yet! Hehe

Besides- I had to do a lot of guesswork in this chapter with the basic spoiler that I read about, because the manga very vaguely goes over it in like… three pages with no major details so far, so who knows- my interpretation of their past may be very accurate, or not accurate at all! Lol

Just as a quick note- I finally finished my royai website that I gave you the address to in the past chapter… I got all of the quirks out! Yay! Hehe… feel free to check it out, and leave me a note in my guestbook.

Thanks again for reading, and your comments are simply wonderful to read- they never fail to put a smile on my face! I appreciate every one of you dearly- this story would be nothing without all of you!

xoxo


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Shadows lurked in the dark and narrow alleyway; the sound of dripping water and the musty smell of moss was enough to convince someone with half a mind to turn away. The young man that stood at the entrance to such a gruesome place, however, instead only hesitated for a moment before stepping into the darkness- his entire body was soon consumed within it.

His footsteps sounded in small echoes against the slick walls, and the scurrying of rats could be heard making their escape in front of him. He reached what seemed to be the end of the alleyway and stooped down low, pushing against the brick wall.

With a hollow grating sound, a large square of the concrete about three feet all around opened up in the remainder of the wall, revealing a space large enough for someone to crawl through.

Once again with only a moment's hesitation, the young man was through the opening. Following his disappearance, the brick door was sealed tight once again.

"You're late."

The young man gasped at the unexpected voice that echoed through the dark room around him.

The striking of a match could be heard, and suddenly a small flame emerged in the darkness; spreading onto a thin torch that had been thrusted into the ground in the center of the room.

A tall man stood before him; his gleaming red eyes were the only signs of his features that shown from amongst the ragged scarf that wrapped over his face and around his head. His red eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of the young man before him; he could see the pain in his eyes.

"Something went wrong, didn't it, Jason?"

Jason winced. "It… it was nothing!" he stammered, not able to look up and meet the other man's eyes. "It's fine, really."

"Don't lie to me." The voice was as thick as blood, and yet calm and steady like that of a poisonous snake that lay coiled at rest. "You know what could happen if we started keeping secrets from each other. Things could go wrong… people could get hurt."

Jason looked up at him finally with nervousness in his light blue eyes. "She… Riza, she… she saw me in her house."

There was a moment of silence from the man that accompanied him, and Jason took that as his chance to explain.

"She seemed surprised to see me, but I managed to get away… she doesn't know anything about us, so everything is fine. There's nothing to worry about, I'm sure of it." With a sigh, he lowered his head, staring into the palms of his hands. "I just… I just wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish there was some other way to make her come home. This way just seems so… so wrong."

"Wrong?" It was the first time that the other man had spoken in a while, and Jason looked up in time to see his red eyes flash in anger. "WRONG! YOU SAY THAT THIS IS WRONG! Tell me- who was it that offered to teach you alchemy when all others stopped believing in your potential? Who was it that helped you devise a plan to have your older sister return home to you and your mother? Who was it that bandaged your wounds, kept you fed, sheltered, and protected for the past few months? Who was it that opened your eyes to the truth about that disgusting monster of a state alchemist that your sister obeys like a sick dog? If you feel that this is wrong, even after all that we have both gone through, then why did you return to me now when you could have stayed with your sister?"

Jason could feel his body shaking in fear, but managed to get a hold of his voice. "I… I'm so sorry sensei. I… I spoke so rudely to you, so selfishly. I beg your forgiveness!"

The man that stood before him sighed and raised a hand to his ragged scarf, letting it rest lightly against his covered face.

"Just be certain that you are willing enough to follow my commands and my teachings." He spoke; his voice once again calm and contained. "I trust I don't need to remind you of what happened to the last of our allies who questioned me?"

To justify his words, his red eyes shifted behind them to the corner of the room. Slumped on his side atop an old ripped heap of burlap sacks was the corpse of a man; his eyes still opened wide in terror and his mouth agape almost as wide as the massive tear in his throat. On his face was the remainder of a black face mask, which had once been used to hide his identity.

Jason grimaced, feeling sick to his stomach. "Yes, sensei." He answered gravely. "I was wrong to question your judgment. You have given me so much, and I am very grateful to you."

A hand rested on his head, and he looked up to see what appeared to be a smile that shown from beneath his teacher's covered features.

"Very well, my student. Let us discuss our next move."

Jason nodded and rose to his feet as the tall man before him turned around and drifted out of the room and into the darkness of another chamber. With a wince, he raised a hand to his shoulder for only a moment, feeling a sharp stab of pain. It seemed almost as if every time he thought of his sister, the wound she had accidentally inflicted upon him would hauntingly remind him of the terrible pain that had seemed to consume his very soul. A moment later the pain was gone, and he followed his teacher into the next room as well.

The thin torch stood alone in the large room, its flame grew small and blue, finally fading away into orange embers that scattered into the shadows, overcome in the darkness.

-------------------------

"I think it might be wise if we were to get some rest for the night and discuss things tomorrow when we both are able to think clearly..."

Roy was interrupted as he lifted a hand to his mouth to stifle a tired yawn.

Riza walked into the room, carrying two steaming cups of tea; one in each hand. She sighed and looked to the endless piles of papers and broken pieces of telephone strewn across the living room. She nodded, handing him one of the teacups.

"I… I guess that's alright." She spoke, lifting the cup of tea to her mouth. She took a sip and set it on the small table in front of the couch, stooping down to begin gathering up the pieces into the box they had come in.

Roy frowned, seeing the weariness in her eyes. They had spent half the remainder of the night comparing ideas on the case and trying desperately to uncover clues. It seemed as if the weight of the world rested on his Lieutenant's shoulders as she stood there before him.

He drew his arms above his head and rose from the couch, careful not to stir the young dog that slept beside him.

Riza finished collecting the debris together in the box and stood up from the ground, sliding it away into a corner of the room with her foot. She looked up to see him stretching.

"I'll get your coat, sir." She offered, turning towards the coat rack that stood beside her front door.

Roy watched her walk towards the door and sighed.

"I don't mean for you to get the wrong idea, Lieutenant, but if you wouldn't mind, I would prefer to spend the night here. After what has happened tonight, it might be a good idea to have another person here should another episode take place."

Riza stopped in her tracks, and turned around to face him once more.

"You want to… you want to stay here?" she repeated, almost surprised at the Colonel's suggestion.

Roy shrugged. "If you would rather I leave, I can." He reasoned, not wanting to make his Lieutenant uncomfortable.

Riza shook her head, walking back into the living room. "No, I don't mind at all, sir." She spoke, lifting a hand to adjust the clip that held her hair in place. "I'm afraid all I have is that couch to sleep on, and it might not be very comfortable as a bed."

Roy shrugged and tried his best to smile. "That's alright; I've had my share of sleeping on couches… once more isn't going to kill me."

Riza managed to return his smile with one of her own, although it was far more forced than she was used to.

"I'll get you an extra pillow and some blankets." She spoke, turning to go down the hall. "I'm sure you know where everything is by now, so make yourself at home, sir."

She left him in the living room, and went in search of the extra blankets and pillows that she kept in the closet at the end of the hallway. Although she knew that the Colonel was only trying to protect her, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks redden at the thought of Roy actually staying the night. The thought of it had crossed her mind, maybe once- and that had been a dream. However, as she walked back down the hallway to see him bending over to look at a picture frame that rested on her coffee table, she felt the incredible reality of the situation.

"I really appreciate your staying." She spoke softly, placing the blankets and pillow on the couch in front of her. "Thank you for all that you have done for me tonight, Colonel. I... I wish there was some way that I could repay you for all your troubles."

Roy turned around, almost seeming surprised to hear her so gracious.

"There's no need to repay me for anything, Hawkeye. I told you I was here for you, as you are for me." He grinned, but was suddenly interrupted once again with another tired yawn as he sunk down onto the couch wearily.

Riza smiled and nodded. "Alright then sir, if you need anything, please let me know." She looked down to see her dog rise from his sleep and blink, staring up at her. "Come on, Hayate. I think you've bothered him enough for tonight."

The young dog stretched before promptly hopping off the couch with a slow wag of his tail and joined his mistress at her side.

"Good night, sir." She spoke softly, reaching across from the living room for the light switch to shut off her kitchen light.

Roy looked up at her from his spot on the couch; the only light in the room shone from the small table lamp next to him, casting a soft glow around the room.

"Good night, Lieutenant."

She could hear the click of the light behind her as she walked down the hallway towards her room, seeing the shards of pale yellow light shining from her doorway.

She headed for the bathroom after retrieving her pajamas from her dresser drawer and closed the door behind her to get ready for bed.

Her mind was on her brother as she changed into the light blue pants and tank top shirt, and she could still see the fear that had shown from his blue eyes as she shut off her lamp beside her bed and laid down to sleep.

"I don't understand this yet, Jason…" she whispered to herself. "I just hope whatever your reasons are for doing these things… I just hope that somewhere deep down inside, you're doing them for something good."

With a labored sigh, she shut her eyes, feeling her dog snuggle up against her. Things would make sense soon- or so she hoped.

----------------------------------------

Author's Note:

Hey everyone… I AM SO SORRY ABOUT NOT UPDATING! Ugh… not only was

I so busy with the anime convention I went to this past weekend, I had so much stuff to do this past week, plus I've been totally depressed that the con is over, and **my computer has a virus!**

OMG- it's the worst virus in the WORLD! It shut down all of my anti-virus programs, and every three seconds I get like 10 pop-ups on my computer for stupid ads and crap. I just wanna shoot myself! lol

Anyway, I know that this chapter isn't really action-packed, but the good stuff's coming. All good stories gotta' build up, you know. But seriously- thanks for understanding.

A quick question- did anyone see me at Anime Next? I was cosplaying Riza Hawkeye… I had a Black Hayate plushie on my shoulder and a Roy plushie that I was carrying around most of the time. If you saw me, give me a shout out! Lol

Thanks again for keeping up with the story… Chapter 19 should be finished shortly.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_"Mommy! Where's mommy? Daddy, bring her back! I don't want her to be gone forever!" _

_"Mommy can't come back, Riza. Daddy misses her too, but he can't bring her back."_

Riza lifted a hand to her head in her sleep with a moan, beginning to stir from her dream.

"_Who is this woman, Daddy? Whenever she's around, you always smile like you would when mommy was alive."_

_"Riza, I want you to meet Maryann. I love her very much- she is going to be your new mommy, if you let her."_

_"But she already has a baby- does that mean I am going to have a little brother now?" _

_"Yes, he will be your step-brother. His name is Jason."_

Black Hayate's ears perked up as he felt the covers moving beneath him. He opened his eyes to see his mistress turning over in her sleep, taking a portion of the covers with her.

_"It isn't fair, Kent… you can't just expect her to move away from here with you to go and study your alchemy- she's only seven!" _

_"But… I have a mommy again- and a brother- and now you're taking them away from me? Why daddy, why?"_

_"Daddy has a lot of work to do, Riza, and he needs your help. You have to come with me for a little while- don't worry, you'll see them again soon."_

Riza could feel her head pounding as she once again turned over in her sleep, half awake, and half submerged in her strange dream. The voices… they were starting to build up, getting louder and more painful.

_"I don't understand this, father… what is flame alchemy?" _

_"This is my research Riza- I have devoted my life to discovering and perfecting the perfect alchemy so that one day it can be used to help and protect people."_

_"My head hurts- I want to take a break. Can't I rest for a while?" _

_"You must keep learning, Riza- you must keep gaining all that I know if you are to be the keeper of my research. I need you to protect it, so that no one else will use it to bring any more evil into the world."_

"My head…it hurts…"

Black Hayate was just about asleep again when he heard his mistress moan in her sleep. He could feel the uncomfortable warmth radiating from her body, and he sensed her discomfort. With a whimper, he rose to his feet and padded across the bed, placing his font paws on her arm.

_"I have finally found him- the one destined to carry out my dreams of using flame alchemy for the good of the people… I'd like you to meet him someday, Riza- you two could learn a lot from each other."_

_"Father, you look ill… do you want me to fetch a doctor?" _

_"I'm fine, Riza… just a little under the weather. Do have the tea ready when my favorite student arrives… Roy is coming to visit today, did I tell you? It will be so nice to see him again."_

_"Are you sure he's really the one? The one you can trust, father?"_

_"He's here, dear… won't you please leave an old man to his guest?" _

Riza's fists clenched the edges of her sheets, and she didn't seem to feel her dog's innocent attempts to wake her from her sleep. She turned her head away when he licked her on the cheek, which frustrated the young dog. His instincts and training took over, and sensing that she seemed to be in trouble, he began to bark.

_"HELP! SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR! IS ANYONE THERE!"_

_"Father! Oh god! Father, no! What's happened to him!" _

_"I'm sorry, Miss. Hawkeye… I did the best I could, but I could not bring your father back. I'm afraid he's gone."_

"Bark… Bark…"

_"I'm so sorry everything had to be left up to you, Mr. Mustang… even my father's funeral and all."_

_"It's fine… I don't mind- I owe Hawkeye sensei so much. It's just a shame I never earned his trust for him to teach me his flame alchemy… I wanted so much to be able to use it for the good of the people- to change the world. I… I'm sorry, there I go again- going on about my silly dreams."_

_"I don't think they're silly… I think your dreams are wonderful. Mr. Mustang… can I trust my father's teachings to you? Can I trust that your dreams will come true?"_

"Bark… Bark…"

_"You know of your father's flame alchemy? Please, tell me…"_

_"Mr. Mustang… could I entrust my back to your dream?"_

_"That- that tattoo… could it be…?"_

_"It is the secret of my father's flame alchemy, Mr. Mustang, and I will give it to you, no matter what it takes, because it's nice to be able to believe in such a wonderful future for this world."_

**"Bark… Bark… Bark…"**

_"It's good to see you again, Mr. Mustang- or should I call you Major now? Tell me- have you begun to remember?"_

_"How could I forget?" _

_"Tell me- why are alchemists, who are supposed to be for the good of the people and protecting them, why are they killing them instead?_

_"Because that's our job- those are our orders. This is the life of a soldier."_

**"Bark! Bark!"**

_"I know that the war is over now, Riza... but I need you to stay with me. If you'll agree to it, I want you to work under me as my subordinate officer- With your help I can see to it that the silly dream of mine becomes a reality. Will you follow me?" _

_"You and I share the same dream, Lt. Colonel Mustang. If being a part of the military is what it takes to ensure that dream, then I will do it without a second thought. I'll follow you, sir, until the day that you reach the top and your goals are met."_

_"_**BARK! BARK!"**

_"You're not my sister anymore! You're just a mindless dog of the military and you'll die along side of that insane colonel of yours!"_

_"JASON WAIT!"_

_"Please, I need to speak with Colonel Mustang… I received a note on my desk today_. _It was some sort of riddle, referring to the 'call of fate' or something… suddenly my phone started ringing and whoever it was told me I was going to die. I think it might be connected to the case…"_

"_When the next bullet fires, I want you to run… don't look behind you. Keep running, and only focus on escaping on your own. Don't come back for me. Do you understand?"_

"_Hawkeye! Come back here! That's an order!"_

Black Hayate settled down on his haunches in frustration, seeing no signs of his mistress recovering. With a quick hop off the bed, he scampered across the room and squeezed out through the tiny opening in the doorway, running down the hallway to do the next best thing.

"_I promise I will avenge your death…"_

"_I… I feel like I can't trust you right now, Hawkeye. It hurts me to say that, but it also hurts me because it's true… it might be better if you removed yourself from this case all together."_

"_Just be careful, Lieutenant… the Colonel may have his own reasons for wanting you off the case."_

"_You look quite lovely, Lieutenant."_

"_Thank you sir… you look nice too."_

Roy was in the middle of enjoying a rather nice dream when he suddenly felt a small body jump right in the middle of his stomach. He jolted up from the couch, gasping for breath.

With a happy wag of his tail, Black Hayate stood up on his hind legs in an attempt to lick the Colonel in the face.

"Damn, Hayate… is that how you always wake people up? I bet the Lieutenant has had to pull a gun on you a few times for that."

The small dog whined and jumped down from the couch, turning in circles. Every once in a while, he let out a small bark and stopped to face the hallway. He would then look back at Roy to see if he understood.

The colonel sighed and stretched his arms above his head. "What's wrong with you?" he muttered. "You have to go to the bathroom or something?"

With a frustrated growl, Hayate ran over towards the coat rack that stood by the front door and stood on his hind legs, pulling out something white that partly stuck out from one of the pockets.

Roy's eyes widened when he saw the object in the dog's mouth.

"My gloves!" he cried, leaping off the couch. "You can't chew on those! Get back here!"

The dog wagged his tail, knowing he had succeeded and took off down the hallway.

Roy was only a few feet behind him, and grinned when he saw him duck into the bedroom. "End of the line, pup." He threatened, watching Hayate jump up onto the bed next to where Riza was asleep.

His threats were soon diminished as he laid eyes on his Lieutenant. She seemed to be in pain; her pretty features were enveloped in a mask of discomfort. By the look of the condition of her crumpled bed sheets, it seemed apparent that she wasn't exactly getting much of a restful sleep.

He cautiously made his way over to the bed, stooping down to pick up his moist glove from the floor where the dog had dropped it. Leaning over the bed, he rested a hand on Riza's shoulder, seeing her forehead glisten with sweat.

"Lieutenant…" he whispered softly, not wanting to alarm her.

"_What are you doing here, Jason!"_

"_I'm sorry, Riza… please don't hate me!"_

"_Oh gods… Jason was the one who attacked us at the base on Sunday."_

"Lieutenant, wake up."

"_You may trust me, but I do not deserve it… I'm sorry sir, although you told me to remove myself from the case, I did not."_

"_The real reason I took you off the case, Lieutenant, was because I was worried about you… I wanted to protect you because I know how it feels… I know how it feels to blame yourself for someone else's death, and to wonder what it would have been like if you could have saved them."_

Roy frowned and grasped both of Riza's shoulders.

"_I know it may seem confusing and it hurts to know that your brother committed such a serious offence, but you need to view this as just another test of fate… of some higher power. You need to stay strong, and know that things can only get better from here." _

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

_"We've been through a hell of a lot, Lieutenant, and I intend to keep you with me through the rest of the hell we'll have to face. I told you this once, and I'll tell you again- you're not alone in this, Riza Hawkeye- not by a long shot. I'll be by your side, even after this whole thing has ended, if you let me."_

"RIZA!"

With a gasp, Riza's eyes shot open and she sat up in bed quickly, lifting her hands to her head in an attempt to stop it from throbbing.

Roy removed his hands from her shoulders and leaned away from the bed, letting her have space to breathe.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"What an… what an unbelievable dream." She whispered, slowly lowering her hands from her head. She looked up at Roy, and suddenly a blush rose to her cheeks. "Oh god, Colonel!" she cried, gathering the covers around her with one hand, while the other flew up to flatten out her hair.

Roy laughed, reaching a hand down to pet Hayate. "It's alright Lieutenant." He grinned at her confusion. "You seemed quite distressed, and your dog here seemed a little worried about you, so I decided to wake you up and make sure everything was okay."

Riza looked from her Colonel's smiling face to that of her young dog's innocent expression. With a sheepish smile, she sighed.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"Just about 8, I suppose."

She let out another sigh and rose from her bed. She reached for her robe that was draped over the back of a chair and put it on, instantly feeling more comfortable wearing it in front of the Colonel. As an afterthought, she quickly gathered her hair up from around her shoulders and twisted it into a bun.

When she was finished, she led Roy from her room and into the kitchen. "I'm going to shower before I eat, but you're welcome to whatever you want." She said, reaching up into one of her cabinets. She pulled down a large yellow box with a picture of a happy brown dog on the front and lifted Hayate's bowl from the floor.

The dog's ears pricked up as he heard the familiar sound of his food bowl being filled and his tail began to wag a mile a minute in excitement.

Riza smiled and placed it on the floor, watching him take a nosedive into the food hungrily. "You don't have to practice your commands today since you've been so good." She murmured to the small black and white dog, listening to the soft sounds of him eating.

"And you don't have to practice yours today, either, Colonel, since you've been so good in spending the night." She smiled jokingly, looking up at Roy.

He smiled and looked up at her. "I appreciate it, Lieutenant… but I'm afraid I must get going. I have a hell of a lot of paperwork to finish by this weekend."

Riza sighed, rising to her feet. "That's true, sir, but if you had just done the paperwork all week when you were supposed to, then you wouldn't have to do it all weekend."

The Colonel sighed and grinned sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. "You know you wouldn't have me any other way." He spoke, walking out of the kitchen and over towards the front door.

Riza followed him and stood a few feet from him, watching him pull on his coat and return his pyrotechnic gloves to his pocket.

"Thank you again, sir." She said, seeing he had extracted his car keys from a different pocket. "Thank you for all you've done."

Roy smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anytime, Lieutenant." He answered, opening the front door. "Be sure to inform me of any leads, now that it's apparent you're back on the case… I'll see you Monday."

Riza nodded, feeling him remove his hand from her shoulder, and watched him walk out the door and down the few steps in front of her house. The Colonel waved and got into his car, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb, driving down the street.

When his car was out of sight, the blonde Lieutenant closed the front door and locked it. With a great sigh, she pressed her back against the door and slid down to the ground slowly.

It had been so hard to hide her sadness from the Colonel… she was glad he hadn't asked her more about the dream that had managed to haunt her even after it was over.

Her eyes drifted over towards Black Hayate. He had finished his breakfast and was making his usual trip out the doggy door in the kitchen to do his business.

"I can't believe I dreamed about… about everything." She whispered, hearing the disbelief in her voice. "I dreamed about mother, about Jason, father, Rebecca, and… and the Colonel."

She lifted a hand to her head; the headache still hadn't left her. With a grimace, she rose to her feet and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. She could only hope that it could prove to settle her nerves.

The tile of the bathroom floor felt cold on her bare feet, but she paid it no notice as she turned on the water, listening to the steady stream of water echo through the room. She removed her robe, and let her hair down from its bun, watching it fall to her shoulders.

Her pajamas soon joined the robe on the floor, and she turned to step into the shower when something caught her eye in the mirror.

There it was- the large tattoo on her back. She sighed, parts of her dream coming back to her.

"_You know of your father's flame alchemy? Please, tell me…"_

_"Mr. Mustang… could I entrust my back to your dream?"_

_"That- that tattoo… could it be…?"_

_"It is the secret of my father's flame alchemy, Mr. Mustang, and I will give it to you, no matter what it takes, because it's nice to be able to believe in such a wonderful future for this world."_

With a smile, Riza turned away from her reflection in the mirror and stepped into the shower, closing the curtains behind her.

All this time, she had been trying to forget her past, but… maybe it was nice to remember.

----------------------

Author's Note:

Wow, you don't know how many times I had to re-write the beginning of this chapter! It sure was a hard one to try and get my ideas across… lol

Oh well, I guess it was worth the pain, suffering, and headaches! I hope you enjoyed it!

On a lower note, I want to take this time to announce that unfortunately this story has only a few more chapters left to it before coming to an end. That's right- the action and answers you've all been waiting for are finally here! It's time to test your skill and see if your assumptions were correct! (I sound like a radio show host… ehhh. Lol)

Thanks once again to all my readers and commenter's- without you, this story would seem so pointless. Hehe

See you in Chapter 20…


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_Estimated time of incid- _ SNAP 

"Dammit!" Riza cursed silently, reaching for another pencil that sat beside her.

_… incidents that occurr- _ SNAP 

"Auuugh come on!" she cried, tossing the pencil across the room in frustration. Black Hayate barked and chased after the flying object, taking it to be a game.

Riza stared down at her paper, brushing away the bits of lead that smeared across the page. She had been trying to organize all her thoughts about the case on one piece of paper, and yet every time she went to write something, she had been interrupted- once by a salesman at the door, three times by her dog, and now twice with the broken pencils.

She sighed, resting her head in her hand. She skimmed over the paper, reading what she had written so far.

_Sunday- Attack at the Base ---- Jason_

_Monday- New investigator--- Rebecca_

_Tuesday- Phone call by mysterious person, threat, attack by at least two known accomplices; one dead, one escaped- both wore face masks to conceal identity. Possible suspects: unknown. Estimated time of incidents that occurr-_

"And that's all I wrote." She sighed, shaking her head. There was no way she was getting anywhere with this… not since the Colonel had left.

Looking at the clock, she could see it was just about 4:48. The whole day had been spent on the floor in her living room, bent over her tiny coffee table in front of her couch. She had a terrible headache, and Hayate's occasional barking as people walked past the house was threatening to push her over the edge.

The young dog was currently jumping up and down against the front door, barking playfully at two kids who were running past the house in a game of tag.

Riza growled and got up off the floor angrily. "Hayate, would you knock it off!"

The dog looked up at her with wide eyes, seeming confused as to why he was being yelled at. His tail slowly stopping wagging and came to a halt.

"I swear, sometimes I wonder if my training has taught you any manners outside of the office." She sighed, shaking her head. "How is it that you can be so well-behaved there, but when I bring you home you're hyper, into garbage cans, making noise…"

She stopped when she felt her dog push his cold nose into her hand. Looking down, she could see him snuggle up against her with a soft sigh. A small smile appeared on her face and she placed her hands on either side of him, lifting him off the floor and cradling him against her gently.

"What am I going to do with you?" she whispered lovingly, stroking her dog's soft fur with her fingertips.

BRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGG 

At the sound of the phone ringing, Black Hayate nearly did a back flip out of her arms in excitement and in one motion he was on the ground and bounding over to the phone as he usually would when it rang.

She sighed at her dog's capability to so effortlessly switch his emotions on and off. Turning around, she walked across the living room and lifted the phone off the hook.

"Hello?"

BRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGG 

Riza's eyes widened, and slowly the receiver slowly slipped out of her hand. She turned around to where the sound of the ringing phone was still coming from, and saw her dog standing as he normally would, tail wagging excitedly, barking…

… At the phone from Rebecca's office.

"IT'S RINGING!" Riza cried out loud in disbelief. In two giant leaps across the living room, she had reached the phone and knelt down in front of it, not knowing what to do. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about it! She could remember plugging it in with the hope that someone would call her, at least proving that the battered phone could still accept phone calls.

Here it was, sitting in front of her ringing away, and she had no way of answering it. If only the receiver hadn't been so badly crushed…

A small blinking light suddenly brought her attention back to the battered phone in front of her. Strangely, a small light bulb she hadn't noticed before was lighting up dimly although the phone had stopped ringing.

She raised a hand to her mouth, realizing what she had just discovered. The phone had an answering machine- and someone was leaving her a message.

As soon as the light finished blinking, she grasped the telephone and ran her hands over it, finally finding a small switch with her fingers on the side of the base. With a soft click, a door opened up on the bottom of the phone, and she pulled out a small black tape.

Reaching for her own phone, she popped out her answering machine's tape and inserted the one from Rebecca's phone in its place. She pushed the small gray button on the side of the phone and crossed her fingers, praying that she could find some sort of clue.

There was a soft grinding noise as the machine rewound the small tape. With a click, it stopped rewinding as the gears inside started spinning slowly in the right direction.

For a while, there was nothing- no sound at all. Riza frowned, feeling her heart sinking in her chest. She grasped the phone and located the volume switch on the side, turning it up all the way. Strangely, there were still no sounds…

Suddenly, ear-shattering static erupted from the answering machine speakers, making Riza drop the phone in surprise. She sat there with wide eyes, as the static continued on.

Black Hayate snarled and bent down low to the phone, his tail wagging slowly. His teeth were bared menacingly and the fur at the nape of his neck began to stick up.

"**_You want to know me?"_**

A voice suddenly erupted from the phone as well, overpowering the static in the background.

As soon as Black Hayate heard the voice, his tough demeanor fell away and he turned on his paw and took a dive into Riza's chest, quivering in fright with a whimper.

The eerie voice seemed to slither through the air like a venomous snake.

"_**No one really knows me. There is nothing of me to know… I am hollow. Cursed and hollow."**_

Riza frowned, holding her dog against her body in an attempt to calm him down.

"_**This is your fault, Private. Remember what you said before? If I were to tell you about myself, I'd have to kill you. It was your idea, you know."**_

Riza's eyes widened in shock as the last of the message played. There was a mechanical grinding sound as the message stopped playing abruptly. Black Hayate looked up at her with wide eyes, silently wondering if it was safe.

In a flash, the Lieutenant leaned over and unhooked the battered phone, and hurriedly replaced it with the plug from her own phone. Her hands shook violently as she fumbled with the chord. She knew she had to call the Colonel and tell him what she had just discovered. Here was the proof that Rebecca's life _had_ been threatened by a mysterious man on the phone- maybe with this, they could finally start piecing together the…

There was suddenly another mechanical clicking noise that came from her phone's answering machine. Riza froze, suddenly remembering that the answering machine light had come on earlier, which had sparked her curiosity and led to the discovery of the tape. Was it possible that someone had left another message?

This time, she was prepared for the loud static that sounded from the phone's speakers. Although she had expected it, the very sound managed to chill her to the bone because this time, she didn't know what to expect.

**_"Well, hello. Isn't this quite a surprise? You weren't expecting the phone to ring, now were you? That's all part of the fun, you know. When the phone rings, it could be anyone- that's what makes this game so exciting."_**

****Riza could feel herself wanting to shut it off- she didn't want to hear any more of the menacing, eerie voice that slithered from the speakers… however, she couldn't find the strength. It felt as if her arms and legs had turned to lead, weighing her to the floor in front of the phone. It was an old feeling that the Lieutenant had hoped she would never again have to endure- cold fear.

**_"I'm sure you don't know much about me even though you have managed to listen in so rudely on the message that I had left for that nice, young investigator. It's not nice to meddle in other people's affairs, you know… and now you've gotten involved in game as well, Lieutenant Hawkeye. Isn't that a pity? Someone as beautiful and intelligent as yourself should have known that it's dangerous to play a game when you don't know the rules."_**

Riza scrambled to her feet, with Hayate still nestled in her arms. "He knows me… he knows I'm on the case… he knows where I live…" she whispered in surprise over and over again. A mild panic began to set in, and she stumbled over towards her front door, grabbing her handbag from the coat rack where Roy had left it when he had come to drop it off. She needed her gun- and fast.

BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG! 

She froze with her hand in her purse, listening to the eerie sound. She turned around at the 3rd ring to see the message light illuminating on her phone.

**_"Hey now, you're not playing fair. You can't leave yet... that's not part of the game."_**

****Riza turned around slowly, the horrible realization sinking in that she was being watched. Her hand scrambled around in her purse, finding her gun was gone. Black Hayate wriggled in her arms, snarling and growling once again.

**_"I'm a little disappointed. I thought you were smarter than that, Miss. Hawkeye. After all, you've always carried a gun with you… and where is it now? Not smart… not smart at all."_**

****Suddenly the dark figure of a man stepped out into the hallway. With all of the strength she could muster, Riza suppressed the urge to scream as she ripped her front door open, making it slam open with such a great force, she knew it must have made a hole in the wall. Her car keys were in her hand in an instant as she made her escape.

Running down her front steps, she could hear the sound of the person behind her, dashing through her house in an attempt to reach her. Riza wrenched her car door open and slammed it behind herself, locking the doors.

She tossed Black Hayate into the back seat and fumbled with the key in the ignition. "Dammit, come on!" she begged, trying to force the key to turn. Since her old car had been destroyed a week ago, the military had supplied her with a second one; although this one had its quirks and was becoming increasingly more difficult to operate.

Reaching into the car's glove compartment, she pulled out her spare handgun and cocked it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the doorway to her house was clear- there was no sign of the attacker at all.

She still fumbled with the key, praying to every higher power she could think of that it would work.

Suddenly, someone slammed against the side of her car with their fists, making the entire thing shake. Riza cried out in surprise and drew her gun, firing twice at her attacker.

With a renewed strength, she forced the key downwards and the car started. She slammed on the gas as the attacker fell away from the car, and she sped down the street.

She could feel her hands shaking mercilessly and tightened her grip on the steering wheel in an attempt to regain control of herself. Street lights flashed by overhead, and she almost jumped as a tiny rain drop fell on the windshield of her car.

"I… I can't believe this is happening…" she murmured to herself. "How could he have known so much about me? He… he was in my house, he knew where I had my gun… he knew my phone number… he knew my name!"

Black Hayate yelped as she swerved out of the way to avoid hitting a garbage can that had been blown into the street in the winds of the storm that was slowly gaining strength. A thousand tiny raindrops had collected on her wind shield now, and she hurriedly switched on her wipers and headlights.

Up ahead she could see a row of fairly good-sized houses lining the street. Then, there it was- the light gray house with the picture window in the front, the dark gray roof, and the military issued car parked outside by the curb.

Riza could feel a lump form in her throat, already waves of relief washed over her. She needed the Colonel- she felt like she needed him more now than she had before.

She directed the car over towards the curb, hearing the tires scrape against the concrete. Without a second thought, she grabbed her gun and flung open her front door.

The rain hit her like a ton of bricks, spilling onto her hair and her clothes, drenching her to the bone. She hurried around the opposite side of the car to let her dog out.

Hayate leapt from the car and bounded up on the curb and over towards Roy's house, recognizing the place instantly.

Riza's foot was on the first step of five leading up to the Colonel's front door when she felt a prick in the back of her leg. With a gasp, she fell backwards, finding no strength to support herself.

She hit the ground hard on her side, scraping her arm badly on the rough concrete walkway. Tasting blood in her mouth, she groaned, assuming she had bitten her lip when she fell.

A shadow fell over her body, blocking the rain from pelting her.

"I believe this is check-mate, Lieutenant."

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Author's Note:

I finally finished Chapter 20! Yay! I feel nice and accomplished now. XD

It was easy writing the ending of this chapter, because I had a really terrible dream last night that I was being chased… so it wasn't so hard to put myself in Riza's place. LoL

I'll be going on vacation down to Seaside beach (NJ) tomorrow, and I won't get back until next Saturday. After that, I have to leave Thursday the 3rd to drive down to MD for Otakon. OMG I'm so excited! If any of you are going to be there, let me know and we can meet up! I'll be cosplaying as Riza Hawkeye, ((at the dance I'll be miniskirt Riza)) and I'll also be cosplaying as Orihime from Bleach.

Thanks reading… hope this chapter didn't leave you too frustrated with me… X3

xoxo


	21. Chapter 21

The deadliest of silences had settled in the midst of the falling rain. The two figures stood on the large front lawn, seemingly frozen in time.

Riza could feel her hands shaking uncontrollably; her fingers dug into the muddy earth as she fought with herself to regain her calm composure. Here was the man that they had been searching for- the cold blooded killer who took away the life of the young investigator Rebecca Quinn… the same person who managed to elude the entire military, and who had suddenly appeared in her house only a few minutes earlier. He had been the source of her sleepless nights, of her stress and deprivation of normalcy… and now she was laying at his mercy on the lawn of the only person who could both save her, and yet needed saving as well.

"I must admit, you proved to be quite the intelligent young woman, Miss. Hawkeye. For a moment, it even appeared that you had gained the upper hand in all of this."

She shuddered, hearing the same icy voice that had managed to give her the chills over the phone, and now it was coming from directly behind her.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, finally finding her voice.

A chilling laugh proved to be her only response, and she shut her eyes for a moment, attempting to block out the terrible sound. It almost seemed as if the rain had started to become painful as it fell harder now. A low rumble of thunder erupted in the distance as the storm worsened.

A bright bolt of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the world around them for only a few moments. In the brief few moments of light, Riza suddenly realized that something was horribly wrong. On Roy's front porch laid the small black and white furry body of Black Hayate. A long slender needle protruded from the center of his stomach, and a small patch of his white fur had turned dark red.

"Hayate…?" she whispered, her voice still hoarse. Her young dog didn't even flinch at the sound of his name. Painful tears welled up in her eyes as she dug her hands into the muddy ground, feeling the dirt sink under her nails. "Hayate! Hayate, no!"

She pushed herself off the ground, ignoring the searing pain that shot through her leg. Her fingers had barely brushed against the slick metal of her gun as she felt a second sharp prick in the back of her other leg. With a cry, she felt the strength in her remaining good leg melt away. For the second time that night, she met with the ground in a painful heap, this time landing on her left side.

"I see you've still got quite a lot of strength left in you, even though you've now lost feeling in both legs, correct?"

Riza's eyes widened as she looked down at her legs lying limply in the grass. There were two thin needles protruding in the backs of both legs, resembling the needle in her dog. "What the hell did you do?" she demanded, straining her neck to attempt to look behind her. "What did you do to me?"

A bright yellow light suddenly shone from an upstairs window in Roy's house, casting a single long beam of light down through the rain. The crunching of grass was more enough of an answer for the Lieutenant, and she felt her heart quicken in her chest. The Colonel was coming outside… and he was in grave danger.

"Shit!" she cursed, struggling to pull her limp lower body towards the stairs of the porch. If her worst fears proved true, then her attacker had just turned his sights on Colonel Mustang.

All the prayers in the world couldn't help her now, she knew, as she watched the front door open with a swift turn of the doorknob.

"Colonel!" she screamed, feeling her head start to spin from a dizzying desperation. "Colonel, please stay back!"

Riza could feel her heart break as the Colonel's handsome face came into view. His onyx eyes widened in shock, seeing both the injured young dog on his porch and his Lieutenant splayed on the grass in the down-pouring rain.

"Hawkeye! Oh gods, what the hell happened to you?" he cried, grabbing his jacket from inside the house.

Riza dug into the ground with all the strength she could muster, feeling the soggy soil underneath her fingernails. She managed to pull herself forwards slightly.

"Colonel he's here! You're in danger!" she cried, hearing her voice shake.

Roy leapt off his porch, not even bothering to use the stairs. As soon as his feet hit the ground however, there was a quick flash of movement from behind him. The Colonel turned around quickly, one hand already in his pocket, most likely pulling on a pyrotechnic glove. With one fluid motion he drew out a gloved hand and snapped his fingers.

Although the entire exchange only lasted a few seconds, by the time the smoke cleared from the Colonel's fire, it became all too clear what the outcome had been.

The once whole pyrotechnic glove was now removed from the Colonel's right hand and was instead pinned to the ground beside him with an all too familiar long slender needle. Two of his fingertips were bleeding; obviously grazed by the sharp weapon.

Out of the shadows on the front porch stepped a tall figure shrouded in the darkness that covered his features.

"So we meet again, Colonel Mustang. I must say, it was so nice of your darling Lieutenant to lead me to your humble abode."

Roy growled. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded. "I've never seen you before."

There was a slight pause before the man suddenly stepped forward. His blazing red eyes met with Roy's, sending the young Colonel backwards in surprise.

"An Ishbalan!" he barely whispered in shock.

With a fluid motion, his attacker drew three needles from a pocket and he gripped them between his fingers like claws, slashing them through the air at Roy's chest.

Colonel Mustang let out a pained cry as the sharp weapons met with his flesh, tearing both his shirt and skin. A fine spray of dark red blood sprayed through the air, sparkling amongst the rain. He slowly slumped to the ground holding his chest painfully. His black hair fell in front of his eyes as he fought to regain his breath through his pain.

Riza could barely control the panic that slowly threatened to consume the remaining sanity that she possessed. "Colonel!" she cried helplessly, feeling her right arm buckle in the slippery mud. She slumped on her side on the ground, but strained with her sore muscles to push herself back up straight.

"An Ishbalan, you say? Did my red eyes give me away, Colonel Mustang?" The masked man stepped forward towards Roy, and leaned over him slightly. "You may have been able to guess my race, but it is quite clear you do not remember as to who I am."

Roy lifted his head, and Riza could feel a twinge of guilt, seeing the pain in his eyes.

"What is this, some pathetic attempt at revenge?" Roy managed to mutter through his clenched teeth. "Let me guess- you were involved in the war? Are you going after the soldiers and alchemists who slaughtered your people? It's not quite the most original idea, I'm afraid… I've heard stories like yours before. You think it's right to kill to avenge a death, but there's no way you can exchange a life for a life!"

"Colonel…" Riza whispered, listening to her Colonel's brave words to his attacker. Even in the face of death, he was as cocky as ever.

"Original? You'd like to hear something original?"

The blonde Lieutenant shifted her gaze to stare up at the tall shrouded man who had just spoken. She squinted her eyes to prevent the rain from blurring her vision, and was surprised to see him lift a hand and tear away the bandages that covered his facial features. Her eyes widened as the last bandage was stripped away.

The man's face was deeply scarred and deformed, seemingly from a burn of some kind. His skin color was deeply tanned and discolored in some places and seemed as consistent as leather.

"I'm sure there were many Ishbalans that you destroyed during the war, Colonel Mustang, but there weren't many who survived your fire attacks. If you want an original story, Mr. Flame Alchemist, try to think back on the young Ishbalan boy you crossed paths with during your rampage of genocide. He hesitated in firing his rifle at you only because somewhere inside of his innocent heart there may have been a shred of decency and humanity. You pointed that dammed glove at him and at that very instant he was doomed to a hermitic life of pain and suffering as you transmuted your hellfire onto his face and body." He grinned, showing off rotting jagged teeth that sat crooked in his mouth. "Is that original enough for you, Colonel? You see? You and I go way back."

Roy was in shock. He had instantly recognized the man's scars to have been inflicted by burns, but he had never imagined that the young Ishbalan boy he suddenly so clearly remembered could be the same man that stood before him at present. At a loss for words, the Colonel was momentarily lost in his painful memories.

The man bent forward and lifted the Colonel's shredded glove from the ground, removing the long slender needle as well. "The pain of burning alive physically does not nearly compare to the pain of being shunned from your own people- from the entire world because of a mere flesh wound." He spoke, his voice growing dark and angry. "I spent so many years plotting the perfect way to return the deed."

He turned around slowly and stared down at Riza who was currently stretching her arm in an attempt to reach her gun once again. He effortlessly knocked her arm away, hearing her cry of pain as a painful cracking sound could be heard coming from her shoulder.

"Not long ago I ran into a young boy who had lost his older sister to the dogs of the military. He was distraught and heartbroken, with a mere goal to learn alchemy so that he could hope to trade himself into the army to take her place. When he had sought her out after the war to beg her to return home, he found that she had turned her back on him, only turning her loyalties towards her Colonel and no one else. What was he to do without the support of his sister? I took him in and taught him the ways of alchemy; the forbidden practices of my people that I had learned in the time I was in lonely exile. In return, he gave me the information I needed to keep a watch on his sister, of course because she would lead me directly to her Colonel- the man who ruined the life I once knew." The man grinned again. "Does it hurt to feel so used, Miss. Hawkeye? Your own brother was indeed the most important pawn in this game."

Riza lashed out at him at grasped his leg in a trained death-grip. "You're a fucking bastard!" she cried. "How can you bear to manipulate such an innocent young boy! He's confused and lost… and you're only using him to turn him into a cold-blooded murder like you! What kind of a life is that!"

The man snarled in distaste at her touch, and swung his other leg behind the one she held and struck her in the neck with the back of his heel.

Instantly, Riza lost her grip against him and fell backwards against the wet grass, clutching her neck in pain.

"Don't worry, my dear, your brother only had the best intentions in mind. I was sure he wouldn't assist me if I had told him my true intentions, so of course I convinced him that I was only trying to get back at the Colonel for brain-washing you into staying in the military. His contempt for the Flame Alchemist was enough to fall for it, you see."

He watched her clutching her neck still, writhing in pain as she tried to move it. When her eyes finally met back with his, her face twisted into hatred.

"If I were you, Lieutenant, I'd be more displeased with myself for your actions earlier tonight. If I recall, you did fire your gun blindly back at your home. Did you check to see your attacker's face before you shot them?"

Memories of earlier that night came flying back to Riza suddenly as she felt her heart threaten to stop beating in her chest from shock.

She had seen someone in her house… she heard them running behind her as she made her escape… when they had thrust themselves against her car she had fired her gun out of reflex. Never once had she actually seen their face or heard their voice; she had been too scared, too panicked.

"It was Jason…?" she whispered in shock, her voice quivering uncontrollably. In her mind's eye, she could imagine her young brother lying on the curbside before her house, reaching out to her in a silent plea for help as she had sped away; blood covering his abdomen.

"I… I shot Jason!"

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Author's Notes

I have been in somewhat of a writer's block… like whoa times two plus yeahh.

I know it took me forever to update, but this was a really hard chapter to progress with… but I am pretty sure that I like the way it came out after all. Yeah… umm I really don't know what else to write. The stuff in this chapter is self explanatory, and pretty much is a source of explanation from earlier on in the story.

Thanks for reading… you guys rawk! 3

xoxo


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Riza could no longer feel the cold rain against her skin; sliding down her cheeks to the ground. Around her, the world had stopped its angry storming. She had grown numb from the unknown poison that been in the needles which still protruded from her legs. Her mind was begging to be shut down as well; a part of her was slowly dying from the inside- her heart couldn't bear much more.

The Ishbalan man knelt down beside her and rested a hand on her head, stroking her hair gently.

"Isn't it a shame? Even the most well trained dogs can lose their way." he murmured, sliding his hands from her hair down to her cheek. His fingertips brushed lightly below her chin and ended at the base of her neck. "So beautiful…" he whispered, tracing her collarbone. "Such perfect, flawless beauty. Some people are just too fucking lucky."

Riza could feel chills run down her spine at his touch, feeling his fingers begin to slide below her shirt collar.

Roy clenched his fists through his excruciating pain. "Take your hands off of her!" he demanded. "Your business is with me, you sick bastard!"

Upon hearing Roy's words, the man grinned and narrowed his angry red eyes towards the injured Colonel.

"My business is with you, you say? I'm sure you would not be so willing if you had any idea what lies in store for you Colonel."

Through the numbness that had begun to slowly consume her, Riza could feel the man's hand lift from her. With a great effort, she slowly turned her head to the side, watching what little she could see of the man moving away from her.

"No…" she murmured, "Don't… don't hurt him anymore."

At the sound of her voice, Roy looked past the Ishbalan approaching him and caught her eyes with his. He could see fear, which was something he had never thought he'd see in her pretty amber eyes. The woman who laid before him was not the strong willed Lieutenant that he had grown used to having by his side. She seemed worn now; worn by pain and grief. It was unnerving to see her in such a state of discomfort- so unnerving that it seemed to numb his pain and instead replace it with an angry fire.

The colonel winced as he felt the man grasp his shirt collar, pulling him off the ground forcefully. His wounds strained under the pressure and a new trickle of blood began to pool through the front of the shirt he was wearing.

"Please, stop!" she cried out again, struggling with her own voice. She could feel herself growing dizzy; her surroundings started to blur together as she blinked furiously to fight off her ever-growing stupor. "He's a good man… he doesn't deserve this pain!"

The Ishbalan man tightened his grip around the Colonel's shirt collar, making him gasp for air. "It's funny how weak people can become once you find their source of strength." He grinned. "Even the strongest can loose their will to go on when the person they care for is taken from them." He leaned in closer to Roy and whispered, "I like seeing other people in pain. It almost brings me to a feeling of justice- almost."

Riza could no longer feel her arms; from her shoulder blade to each of her fingertips she grew numb. The cold mud curdled around her as she laid to rest.

A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky. As her eyes began to close, she caught sight of a blurred shape from just beyond Roy and his attacker. In surprise, her eyes widened for only a moment as she fought to focus her vision.

There was a figure that stood fairly tall and thin, with short hair that stopped just below their ears. Riza blinked again, fighting with her paralysis that had almost overcome her.

The fair skin and pretty hazel eyes of a young woman stared back at her; the rain seemed to fall around her as if she was protected by a force that could not be seen.

A stab of realization seemed to almost jolt her awake as she suddenly recognized the woman. She managed to speak through her pain and lethargy.

"R… Rebecca…"

A warm smile appeared on the fallen officer's face at the sound of her name.

_"Don't give up, Lieutenant. Don't give up on living." _

Riza strained her eyes, trying desperately to remain focused on Rebecca's form.

"_The Colonel needs you now."_

There was a moment of silence when the world seemed to grow silent. Riza could suddenly feel her arms twitch as they miraculously began to come back to life; her fingers moved lightly in the thick mud.

She could feel herself shake in shock, but left no time for thought. With a cry, she lurched forward off the ground and stretched out her arm, feeling the slick wet handle of her gun brush against her fingertips.

In one fluid motion, she slid her hand into place against the gun and adjusted her grip on the weapon, turning it to face their attacker. She pulled against the trigger and felt her arm jerk backwards painfully from the force of the bullet firing from the barrel.

It seemed as if she was in a trance of some sort; the world went by slowly as she could see the fingers of Roy's attacker loosen from around the collar of his shirt. He turned his head towards her as he let Roy fall to the ground altogether, turning his attention to the bleeding wound in his side.

"How… how are you able to move?" he snarled through his pain.

Riza could feel her arms begin to strain but held them in place as she fired another shot, this one missing target and making its mark in his upper arm.

The man cried out in pain as he stumbled forwards, doubling over. "You fucking bitch…" He murmured angrily, attempting to move towards her. "I'll kill you first, if that's what you want."

She pulled the trigger a third time, this time aiming for his head. An echo click was the only response from the gun in her hands as a feeling of dread washed over her. She was out of bullets.

The man continued to come towards her, aware of her situation. "It seems like you've finally run out of surprises. Not everything is going to go as planned, my dear, and now your beloved Colonel can watch as I take away what means most to him- as he did to me."

Riza narrowed her eyes and steadied her shaking hands; it was like her mind was racing on empty and she was beginning to lose consciousness. One thought remained alive inside her mind as her most primitive training seemed to take over her.

"I'd gladly give my life to see him live." She spoke, pressing her finger against the trigger.

A loud shot fired through the night sky, seeming to echo even louder than the thunder itself. Riza felt her vision start to blur as the Ishbalan man's eyes widened; a thin line of blood made its way between his eyes as his body slowly lowered towards the ground.

She could hear the Colonel's voice calling out to her from where he had fallen on the lawn; he was calling her name fervently. She tried to respond, but her voice suddenly seemed to fail her. Her knees came in contact with the ground as she felt the weight of the world suddenly seem to press her down as she was powerless to stop it.

The Lieutenant looked down at her gun, fighting with the little reason that was left inside of her mind. Only two empty casings rested at her feet, and no smoke was escaping the chamber. She had shot the Ishbalan man… hadn't she?

Riza's fingers relaxed around the sleek weapon, letting it slowly fall from her grasp. She never heard it hit the ground as her vision slowly continued to blue. Falling forwards on her side, she could barely feel the wet grass against her skin.

The last thing she could remember was looking up and hearing the sound of a vaguely familiar voice calling her name over and over again as someone gathered her up into their arms. Their warmth surrounded her and she relaxed, drifting into unconsciousness.

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Authors Note:

Well… I finally finished the chapter. I have the feeling that a few of you were about to assassinate me if I didn't hurry up and post… but honestly I really wanted to make this chapter a good climactic chapter, because it pretty much solves all of the problems presented throughout the entire story.

I can guarantee a maximum of two more chapters before this story comes to an end completely- so far I'm only seeing one though. XD

Once again I'd just like to apologize for all the waiting and stalling- I hope it was worth it. Thanks so much for keeping up with the story and commenting so sweetly on each chapter. You guys are awesome!!! X3

Xoxo


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